News & Comment

Some of the most famous images in nanoscience and technology have been produced by scanning probe microscopes but, as Chris Toumey explains, there is much more to these images than meets the eye.

A lot has happened in nanoscience and technology since Nature Nanotechnology was launched one year ago this month.

The discovery of carbon nanotubes by Sumio Iijima in 1991 is one of the landmarks in the history of nanotechnology. Nature Nanotechnology spoke to him about the events leading up to the discovery, possible applications of nanotubes and his attitude to research.

High-density data storage could be achieved by using a scanning tunnelling microscope to switch the magnetization of tiny iron particles

By using ultra-small nanoparticles that can reach the lymph nodes, it is possible to deliver vaccines to immune cells — and activate them — more efficiently

The strength of hydrogen bonds between molecules on a metal surface can be quantified by observing them with a scanning tunnelling microscope

The way in which laser ablation can be used to pattern nanoscale features on a surface has been investigated with a striped diamond-like carbon film

The concept of 'chemical friction' is explored by studying how fullerenes rotate when surrounded by a molecular box

Long DNA molecules can be separated on the basis of their length by pulling them off a surface when stretched under the influence of an electric field

Atom probe tomography allows researchers to identify the tiny defects in crystal lattices that could affect the performance of silicon nanodevices

Nominations have opened for the first Kavli Prize in Nanoscience

A combination of two lasers can efficiently drive an ultrafast current pulse in a molecular circuit

Non-functionalized carbon nanotubes can transform the shape of quantum dots

A flat organic molecule resting on a surface can be reversibly switched between two different conductance states with an STM tip

A scanning tunnelling microscope can be used to observe and control the magnetic properties of single atoms on a surface

A solution-phase synthesis process allows SnTe nanocrystals to be fabricated with tunable bandgap energies that can range down to the mid-infrared

Adding a small amount of manganese to cadmium sulphide nanocrystals can generate a stable shade of white light