News & Comment

We reflect on the legacy that our long-serving Chief Editor leaves behind, as he moves on to pastures new.

Ned Seeman, pioneer of the field of structural DNA nanotechnology, passed away on November 16, 2021.

Nanoscale systems are ideally suited to study quantum mechanical effects and explore these as resources for emerging quantum technology such as quantum sensing, communication or computing.

Silicon spin qubits have demonstrated some promising properties at the individual level, but the technology is beleaguered by a late start and high barriers to entry. To overcome these challenges, the quantum computing and electrical engineering communities will need to find novel ways to work together.

High-performance quantum light sources based on semiconductor quantum dots coupled to microcavities are showing their promise in long-distance solid-state quantum networks.

Molecules have the potential to act as sharp energy filters for electrical currents and could thereby outperform other materials considered for thermoelectric energy conversion. Yet, there is a gap between theoretical predictions and practical implementations in molecular thermoelectricity, and this research roadmap may guide the transition from academic research to valuable technology.

The reported observation of enhanced diffusivity of simple molecules during a chemical reaction in solution is but the latest of nanoscale wonders.

A common understanding of the key regulatory term “substance” is needed for the implementation of chemicals regulations for nanomaterials.

The halide perovskite family has, arguably, become today’s most promising emerging materials sets for optoelectronic applications. Here, we discuss the underperformance to date of the colloidal nanocrystal forms of these materials when employed in electroluminescent lighting devices relative to their counterparts, in which the emitter layer is in the form of polycrystalline films. However, we highlight the bright future of halide perovskite colloidal nanocrystals in light-emission technologies such as LCD displays, quantum light sources and even alternative LED configurations, as well as key guidelines for their further development to get there.

Polyethylene glycol, used as a stabilizer in nanomedicine formulations, has recently been indicated as the possible cause of the anaphylactic reactions against the COVID-19 mRNA-based vaccines, but the evidence supporting this is contradictory, and other factors might be involved.

We celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of Nature Nanotechnology by looking at how the journal topics have expanded throughout the years.

Almost all currently used vaccines against COVID-19 consist of either non-viral or viral nanoparticles. Here we attempt to understand the reasons behind the success of such advanced nanoscale vaccine technologies compared with clinically established conventional vaccines, and the lessons to be learnt from this potentially transformative development in the adoption and acceptance of nanotechnology for medicine.

Sharing the step-by-step procedures necessary to fabricate nanostructures could optimize efforts to achieve reproducible devices.

The FAIR principles provide compelling guidelines on how to achieve reusability of nanotechnology data.

The challenge of assessing the scope and magnitude of risk from nanomaterials is urgent for society and ignoring risks could be detrimental for development. This challenge is bigger than the individual capacities on each side of the Atlantic, but effective cross-Atlantic collaboration can solve essential riddles about the use of nanomaterials.