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DNA can self-assemble into prestressed tensegrity nanostructures composed of compressed bundles of double helices and tense linking segments of single-stranded DNA.
The resistance of a network of nanoscale loops of La2−xSrxCuO4 oscillates as a function of the magnetic flux through the loops in a way that cannot be explained by the classic Little–Parks effect, but also rules out some theoretical predictions about these systems.
Colour mixing and other optical effects displayed by the wings of the Papilio blumei butterfly have now been replicated by a combination of colloid self-assembly and other standard layer-deposition techniques.
Graphite spontaneously exfoliates into single layers of graphene in chlorosulphonic acid, resulting in a solution that is an order of magnitude more concentrated than any previously reported, and forms a liquid-crystalline phase at high concentrations.
A DNA-based computational platform can construct a universal set of logic gates and perform addition/subtraction operations in parallel, as well as activating multilayered gate cascades and fan-out gates, in a single test tube.
Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy can image the active sites of iridium catalysts anchored in zeolite crystals, determining their locations and approximate distance from the surface of the crystals.
By controlling the density of phosphorus dopant atoms in single-crystal silicon it is possible to fabricate quantum dots that do not contain interfaces between different materials.
Glass undergoes a reversible dielectric breakdown under high electric fields at the nanoscale, allowing it to be used as an electrode for fluidic devices such as electrokinetic pumps.
Infrared radiation from biased graphene transistors can be used to extract the temperature distribution, carrier densities and spatial location of the Dirac point in the graphene channel.
A commercial atomic force microscope can be used to obtain atomic- or molecular-level-resolution images and interfacial energy maps of hard and soft materials in liquids.
Photocatalytic nanostructures can be created by using a genetically engineered virus as a scaffold to assemble organic photosensitizers and metal oxide catalysts in close proximity.
Different stages of amyloid aggregation can be examined by performing a statistical polymer-physics analysis of single-molecule atomic force microscopy images of heat-denatured β-lactoglobulin fibrils.
Nitrogen-vacancy colour centres have been observed in discrete 5-nm nanodiamonds at room temperature, and their blinking has been switched on and off by modifying the surface of the nanodiamonds.
Metal nanoparticles can penetrate through a C60 monolayer supported on gold in a matter of hours, but cannot penetrate two layers of C60 or a C60 monolayer resting on graphite.
A type of peroxidase enzyme found in certain white blood cells can degrade single-walled carbon nanotubes into products that do not cause inflammation in the lungs of mice, suggesting that the severity of toxic responses of carbon nanotubes may depend on the extent of its degradation.
Real-space scanning tunnelling spectroscopy has provided new insights into the properties of a well-known two-dimensional organic superconductor, including a superconducting gap that increases exponentially with the length of the molecular chain.
A stable extended defect in graphene consisting of octagonal and pentagonal rings produces one-dimensional charge localization, allowing it to act as a metallic wire embedded in an otherwise perfect graphene sheet.
Adjustable nanoelectrodes have been used to measure tunnelling currents through single nucleotides, and could form the basis of a new approach to DNA sequencing.