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Crystalline material may be stabilized by complementary DNA interactions but its subsequent capacity for structural transformation is poorly understood. Here, by tuning the DNA handshaking between two sets of nanoparticles, a Martensitic transformation within the binary colloidal crystals is observed.
Although cellulose is abundant in the biosphere, its potential as a source of biofuel depends on finding efficient ways to degrade it. Blifernez-Klassen et al. show that phototrophic microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtiican metabolize cellulose, indicating its potential as a catalyst for biofuel production.
Chaotic dynamics can arise in quantum systems as well as classical ones, leading to its own interesting phenomena. Using an all-optical approach, Lemos et al. study the quantum-kicked harmonic oscillator and its nonlinear dynamics, controlling and mapping the transition into quantum chaotic behaviour.
The cre-loxP system is widely used for the generation of conditional gene knockouts. Here Heffner et al.systematically characterize cre recombinase activity in tissues of embryonic and adult cre-driver mouse strains and provide an online resource for scientists.
Controlled nanoscale reduction of graphene oxide could aid the development of graphene-based electronics. Here, a relatively mild technique is reported that uses a platinum-coated atomic force microscope tip to catalyse the reduction of graphene oxide to graphene.
Integration of different compounds with silica is important for developing small-scale optical devices, yet the high temperatures needed to build silica waveguides impose limits. Here, a room-temperature, self-assembly approach is shown, which produces long microwires containing nanodiamonds or organic dyes.
Control of spin statistics by spin injection from ferromagnetic electrodes has been shown to achieve only weak effects in organic optoelectronic devices. Wang et al.use instead polarization of spins after injection, at high magnetic fields and low temperatures, achieving a 50% change in device characteristics.
Metamaterials using split-ring resonators can display negative refractive index, yet the same effect for closed rings has remained elusive. Kanté et al.overcome this by using closely spaced coupled nanorings that exploit symmetry breaking to show broadband negative refractive index at optical frequencies.
Humans tend to adopt one of a limited number of different bacterial community structures in the gut, known as enterotypes. Moeller et al.now show that these microbial fingerprints are conserved in chimpanzees, and that individuals can switch between enterotypes over periods of several years.
The promising electronic properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes are strongly dependent on their chirality. Here a metal catalyst free, vapour-phase epitaxy-type cloning mechanism is shown to yield high purity metallic and semiconducting nanotubes from purified single-chirality seeds.
The wide range of properties encountered in metamaterials make them promising for numerous optical applications. Chenet al. build a plasmonic flat metamaterial lens with an abrupt phase change that functions as a convex lens for one handedness of light and a concave lens for the other.
Changes in the methylation pattern of gene promoters are hallmarks of certain cancers, such as colon cancer. Here Yang et al.identify and validate a set of genes and measure the cumulative methylation of promoters, which allows them to distinguish between two stages of colon cancer.
Developing next generation batteries requires better understanding of the dynamics of electrochemical reactions in working electrodes. Using a transmission electron microscope, Wanget al. develop a means to track the real time flow of lithium atoms in electrodes during the discharge of a functioning electrochemical cell.
Some social aphids have evolved to live inside completely closed galls, which presents a waste disposal problem of the honeydew that collects inside the gall. Here, Kutsukake et al.show that the gall inner surface is specialized for absorbing water, removing honeydew via the plant vascular system.
In the recently proposed topological crystalline insulators, the topological states result from crystalline symmetries rather than time-reversal symmetry. Xu et al. report the experimental observation of a topological crystalline insulator phase in Pb1-xSnxTe by spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.
The electron occupancy of 3d-orbitals critically determines the properties of transition metal oxides. In this report, surface symmetry breaking is combined with substrate-induced epitaxial strain to tune the occupancy of surface electronic orbitals in ABO3perovskite epitaxial films.
Fluorescence imaging in vivo is hampered by autofluorescence and the scattering and absorption of short-wavelength light. To address these problems, Xiong et al. produce self-luminescing nanoparticles that enable in vivonear-infrared imaging without external light excitation.
Multifunctional S100 proteins are upregulated in brain injury, but their role in neurodegeneration is not clear. Dmytriyeva and colleagues study in vivomodels of brain trauma and find that the S100A4 protein and its peptide mimetics protect neurons via the interleukin-10 receptor and the Janus kinase (JAK)/STAT pathway.
Internal friction affects the kinetics of protein folding. Borgiaet al. investigate how this friction affects the folding dynamics of the protein spectrin, revealing a potential role in the rate-limiting conformational changes.