News & Comment

A new type of optical trap that works with a low-intensity laser could safely confine nanosize objects such as viruses.

The effluent from the synthesis of carbon nanotubes contains a variety of side-products that can harm the environment if released in large quantities.

Tomato seeds treated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes germinate and grow faster.

Researchers can grow samples containing mostly metallic carbon nanotubes by carefully controlling the ambient gases used during production.

The mobility of graphene on a graphite substrate exceeds past measurements by orders of magnitude.

Nanotube networks may be reaching the limits of their conductivity.

The same laser can be used to both drive and detect the rotation of a nanoscale object.

Ultrathin nanowires grown inside carbon nanotubes are more stable than those grown with other techniques.

A multifunctional nanoparticle that can help doctors find and treat cancer and atherosclerosis has been synthesized.

Researchers are slowly but surely improving the processing of organic semiconductors, making organic devices more viable.

A report on nanotechnology published in 2004 by two learned societies in the UK has had impacts in other areas of science and technology, as Richard Jones reports.

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

Calls for more data on the impact of nanomaterials on human health and the environment reflect a failure to accept that there will always be unknowns associated with any new technology. Effective governance of emerging nanotechnologies will require an acknowledgement of these unknowns, an open and adaptive approach to regulation, and the courage to make decisions.

The storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries can be greatly improved by using silicon nanowires in the anode.

Metallic carbon nanotubes can be converted into semiconducting nanotubes by exposing them to light.

Scanning electron microscopes can now image single atoms thanks to aberration correction.

Growing mono-dispersed platinum nanoclusters using a graphene Moiré template.

Sonication can be used to predict the tensile strength of filamentous nanomaterials.

Single photons can generate multiple electron–hole pairs in carbon nanotubes.