News & Comment

Europium hydroxide nanorods can promote the growth of new blood capillaries

Fibres coated with semiconductor nanowires generate power when they are rubbed together

Single-electron capacitance spectroscopy can be used to probe single dopant atoms in semiconductor nanostructures

Gold and silver nanoparticles appear to be stiffer than bulk samples of these materials

DNA can be used to steer the crystallization of gold nanoparticles into large, highly-ordered structures

Fluids containing magnetic nanoparticles can display potentially useful thermal properties

X-ray diffraction microscopy can be used to produce element-specific images of buried structures with nanoscale resolution

The structures of the narrowest carbon nanotubes ever made have been assigned for the first time on the basis of atomically resolved transmission electron microscope images

Electrons go surfing on acoustic shock waves in semiconductors

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

Is it possible to reconcile the caution of most scientists about their results with the demands of the media for headlines and the growing emphasis placed by funding agencies on the economic impact of research? Richard Jones urges scientists to be careful in their claims.

It is essential that governments continue to fund research that does not appear to have any obvious economic benefits, even in a field as focused on applications as nanotechnology.

The increasing emphasis on commercialization and market forces in modern universities is fundamentally at odds with core academic principles. Publicly funded academics have an obligation to carry out science for the public good, and this responsibility is not compatible with the entrepreneurial ethos increasingly expected of university research by governments and funding agencies.

Highly sensitive platinum-coated carbon nanotubes can detect much lower levels of carbon monoxide than other nanotube-based sensors

Paints containing silver nanoparticles show antibacterial properties and are made by a simple and environmentally friendly method using vegetable oil

Assembling long carbon nanotubes vertically in a low-density array has resulted in a near-ideal black material that may have light-harvesting applications

A nanostructured quantum dot with tunable electronic properties can be carved from a single sheet of graphene with a reactive ion etching process

Theoretical calculations show that stable growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes requires strong bonds between them and the metal clusters from which they grow