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The magnetization of a magnetic material often prefers to lie along an 'easy' axis. This magnetic anisotropy is weak in bulk samples of transition metals, but it becomes much stronger in nanowires. Now Erio Tosatti and colleagues have predicted that platinum nanowires should exhibit a novel phenomenon called colossal magnetic anisotropy, in which the magnetization is finite in directions along the nanowire, and zero at right angles to this direction. The cover image is based on contour plots of the anisotropy energy as a function of magnetic moment (see Fig. 2c on page 23).
Theoretical approaches have an important role to play in driving forward new ideas in nanoscience and technology, as illustrated by two papers in this issue.
Debates about nanotechnology and religion have become dominated by the concepts of transhumanism and cyberimmortality, but, argues Chris Toumey, there are more interesting topics to discuss.
Computer simulations suggest a route to making a capacitor that can store electron spin, as well as charge, by applying an electric field to a conventional capacitor.
A cell-targeting peptide can be assembled into well-defined nanoparticles with different shapes and sizes depending on the number of branches present in the hydrocarbon chain it is attached to.
Graphene has potentially useful electronic properties but it is difficult to produce and process on large scales. Working with chemically modified forms of graphene — such as graphene oxide — may provide an alternative.
Nanoparticles have many potential medical applications but their behaviour in the body is poorly understood. New studies in mice show that particles that don't have targeting molecules attached can selectively enter certain organs solely on the basis of their charge and size.
Cell signalling that is normally biochemically regulated can now be stimulated, with reversible and external control, by attaching magnetic nanoparticles to a cell surface and applying a magnetic field.
Theory and computation have important roles to play in driving forward new ideas in nanoscience and technology. Although the level of detail needed to interpret the results of specific experiments can make it difficult to draw more general conclusions, the best theory papers will stimulate researchers to try new measurements or revisit old experimental data in a significantly different light.