Volume 5 Issue 3, March 2010

Graphene could one day be involved in a new definition of the kilogram.

New regulations concerning nanomaterials should consider the details of individual materials, applications and environments to avoid generalizations that might stifle the entire field.

Very accurate measurements of the quantum Hall effect with massless particles in single sheets of carbon atoms could help metrologists in their efforts to improve the standard for electrical resistance, and possibly even redefine the kilogram.

Self-assembly of proteins commonly associated with neurodegenerative diseases can be exploited to make well-ordered and strong functional macroscopic materials.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes can be used to detect single DNA molecules as they pass through the nanotubes under the influence of an applied electric field.

A silicon-based membrane for fuel cells offers significant advantages over Nafion-based membranes.

Three-dimensional integration may allow for continued improvements in the speed, density and cost of non-volatile memory.

A CMOS-capable silicon nanowire transistor has been fabricated without any junctions, simplifying its manufacture and improving its performance relative to traditional devices.

Ultrasharp scanning probe microscope tips made of diamond-like carbon that contains silicon and oxygen demonstrate very high levels of wear resistance.

The quantum Hall effect has been measured in epitaxial graphene to an accuracy of a few parts per billion, potentially establishing a new quantum resistance standard.

A continuous semiconducting thin film can be created from a large sheet of graphene, which does not have a bandgap at room temperature, using block copolymer lithography.

Diamond nanowires can produce single photons ten times more efficiently than bulk diamond, while consuming ten times less power.

Bond-cleavage and bond-forming reactions can be performed at local positions on a DNA origami scaffold and imaged at the single-molecule level with atomic force microscopy.

Well-ordered and highly rigid macroscopic films can be self-assembled from amyloid protein fibrils.

Dynamic changes in the light-driven proton pump, bacteriorhodopsin, which occur on stimulation with light, can be visualized using high-speed atomic force microscopy.

Biological nanofactories selectively bind to bacteria and produce molecules that trigger a quorum sensing response and facilitate the communication with nearby bacteria, offering a way to generate new antimicrobial treatments.

Near-perfect welds between gold nanowires can be created in seconds by mechanical contact alone.

A nanowire transistor with full CMOS functionality has been fabricated without the use of junctions or doping concentration gradients.

A silicon-based membrane with functionalized nanopores offers significant advantages as a proton-exchange membrane for fuel cells.