News & Views in 2012

The electrostatic interaction between protein cages and charged gold nanoparticles can be used to assemble nanoparticle superlattices with structures that have not been observed before in nature.

Yeast, bacteria and fungi have been used to synthesize a variety of nanocrystals. Now, the metal detoxification process in the gut of an earthworm is exploited to produce biocompatible cadmium telluride quantum dots.

A molecular motor can be made to rotate in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction by injecting electrons into different parts of the molecule using the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope.

Experiments on nano-islands of a high-temperature superconductor reveal the presence of a small imaginary component of the superconducting order parameter.

A supramolecular polymer made of thousands of bistable [c2]daisy chains amplifies individual nanometric displacements up to the micrometre-length scale, in a concerted process reminiscent of muscular cells.

Treatment of mammalian cells with dilute silicic acid followed by heating forms silica replicas of the cell template, offering a way to preserve cell specimens and generate biocomposites for various applications.

DNA can be used to create a very soft gel with liquid-like properties that can return to a preset solid shape when water is added.

Magnetic circular dichroism on quantum dots doped with a small percentage of copper ions show the typical features of diluted magnetic semiconductors.

Confinement of light in subnanometre gaps encounters a fundamental limit in the quantum tunnelling regime.

The conductivity of a single graphene nanoribbon can be measured by lifting the nanoribbon off a surface with the tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope.

Many experiments have demonstrated that the spin direction of an electron survives for a relatively long time in an organic material. Results presented at a recent conference show how such long spin-lifetimes can be used in devices.

Stiffness measurements of tumour biopsies and single cells show unique fingerprints that identify the different stages of cancer.

Direct determination of carrier concentration and doping in a single nanowire is achieved by placing four electrical contacts along its sidewall.

The photocurrent of a single photosynthetic protein can be measured by using a scanning probe tip as both an electrode and a localized light source.

Constructive quantum interference is verified experimentally in a parallel single-molecule circuit, potentially offering an intuitive approach to designing intramolecular circuits.

Valley degeneracy in carbon nanostructures can be detrimental to electron spin control and readout based on spin blockade. As a way around this problem, it is now shown how to use a combined valley–spin blockade instead.

An elegant modification of nuclear magnetic resonance allows detailed structural analysis of self-assembled semiconductor quantum dots, so far hindered by the intrinsic strain in these nanostructures.