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The spreading and differentiation of stem cells depends on the stiffness of the extracellular matrix. Now, experiments on human epidermal and mesenchymal stem cells cultured on substrates with covalently attached collagen fibres show that the cells sense and respond to the anchoring of the collagen fibres to the substrate.
Enzyme-modified plasmonic nanoparticles that generate a signal that is larger when the concentration of the target molecule is lower can detect ultralow levels of the cancer biomarker prostate-specific antigen in whole serum.
To drive the formation of tubular structures, cells remodel their extracellular microenvironment to induce coordinated migration. It is now found that a mechanical feedback loop, involving the interaction of cell traction forces with collagen fibres, facilitates the formation of long epithelial tubules.
Progress in organic electronics depends on our understanding of the structure–property relationships of organic materials. Resonant scattering of polarized soft X-rays by aromatic carbon bonds has now been used to probe molecular orientation in thin organic semiconductor films down to length scales of 20 nm.
Colloidal particles interacting through DNA linkers can be designed to form solids that melt when either heated or cooled. This scenario widens the temperature window in which colloidal superlattices form by reducing kinetic bottlenecks.
Experiments with superconductor–graphene hybrids, a novel platform to study quantum phase transitions, suggest that in the proximity of the critical point between superconducting and insulating phases, inhomogeneity emerges at large scales even in apparently uniform disordered systems.
Accurate and extensive measurements of the compositional dependence of the Curie temperature brings us one step closer to solving the puzzle of the origin of ferromagnetism in the model ferromagnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As.
Evidence of a transition between two coexisting liquids of the same composition in a water–glycerol mixture, where glycerol prevents the crystallization of water, provides a unique link to an elusive liquid–liquid transition in pure water.
A dendritic polymer consisting of inversely oriented lipid head groups on a polyvalent polyglycerol scaffold makes an effective reversible biomembrane adhesive that may find use as a tissue sealant and a drug-delivery vehicle.
Self-assembled barrel-like DNA nanostructures carrying active payloads and pre-programmed with logic operations to reconfigure in response to cell-surface cues can trigger a variety of intracellular functions.
A study reveals that spider orb webs fail in a nonlinear fashion, owing to the hierarchical organization of the silk proteins. The discovery may serve as inspiration for engineers for the design of aerial, light-weight, robust architectures.
The demonstration of strong coupling between electromagnetic fields and excited molecular states represents a powerful new strategy for controlling quantum-mechanical states and chemical reaction dynamics.
Self-assembled microsponges of hairpin RNA polymers achieve, with one thousand times lower concentration, the same degree of gene silencing in tumour-carrying mice as conventional nanoparticle-based siRNA delivery vehicles.
The pronounced temperature dependence of crystal-growth speed in phase-change materials not only rationalizes their favourable characteristics for non-volatile memory applications, but also suggests a profound new insight into their fundamental properties.
The finding that metallic glasses inherit their elastic properties from solvent atoms leads to a new understanding of the complex relationship between glassy structure, deformation and mechanical properties.
When quenching a liquid to form a glass, order-of-magnitude changes in cooling speed have small effects on the glass's properties. It is now shown that laser-assisted vapour deposition produces nanostructured glassy polymer films with a higher glass transition temperature and lower density than conventional quenched polymer glasses.
