News & Comment

Jong-Hyun Ahn and Byung Hee Hong discuss how graphene can be used in the development of flexible electronics.

Solid-state nanopores are often used for biomolecular analysis, but have so far been unable to sequence DNA. Marija Drndić asks whether nanopores made in graphene could fulfil all of the requirements needed for sequencing.

Ten years after Richard Smalley and Eric Drexler exchanged views on the feasibility of atom-by-atom manipulation, the precise control of matter at the nanoscale and the fabrication of molecular machinery are still relatively limited, and practical applications are a long way off.

Eight students from across the world discuss their own nanoscience education.

Leading researchers in molecular electronics discuss the motivation behind their work and what they consider to be the grand challenges for the field.

The first issue of Nature Nanotechnology, published five years ago, contained seven research papers. We catch up with the authors of those papers and ask how nanotechnology has changed since then.

Gold has risen from relative obscurity to command a place at the forefront of catalysis research, but when will nanoscale gold catalysts be ready for industrial applications?

Nanotechnology could have an impact on many areas of the food industry, including packaging, nutrient delivery and food quality, but it is too early to tell if it will be embraced by food companies and the general public.

In 1959 Richard Feynman called for researchers to improve the resolution of the electron microscope, and they have — but resolution is only part of the story.

Combining magnetic nanoparticles, microfluidics and nuclear magnetic resonance could transform the way tuberculosis and other diseases are diagnosed.

Small start-up companies are making large volumes of graphene, the world's thinnest material, for applications such as composites and electrodes.

A collaboration between China's leading university and one of the world's biggest industrial companies is bringing a range of nanotube-based materials and devices to the market.

A company founded by two ex-Microsoft employees is buying up patents in nanotechnology and other areas on a grand scale, as Adarsh Sandhu reports.

Its economy might be dominated by agriculture and tourism, but Thailand is investing heavily in nanotechnology, although a shortage of scientists and engineers remains a problem, as Adarsh Sandhu reports.

Researchers from Japan are at the forefront of international efforts to establish standards for assessing the risks associated with nanomaterials. Adarsh Sandhu reports.

Focusing on the commercialization of research results and avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort are central to South Korea's approach to nanotechnology, as Adarsh Sandhu reports.

Why do hundreds of companies and tens of thousands of people attend a nanotechnology conference in Tokyo every year? Adarsh Sandhu finds out.

With new research centres opening in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, close links between government-funded laboratories and industry, and a plentiful supply of researchers, China is set to become a major player in nanotechnology. Adarsh Sandhu finds out more about the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology

Governments invest billions in it and tens of thousands of papers are published on the subject every year, but what exactly is nanotechnology?