Reviews & Analysis

The controlled positioning of more than 8,000 chlorine vacancies on a surface at 77 K is a step towards the implementation of ultradense rewritable atomic memories.

Living matter should inspire the design of future nanosystems.

Real-time three-dimensional mapping and control of in vitro cardiomyocytes opens new paths for post-surgery heart monitoring and stimulation.

Measuring changes in the isotopic composition of silver offers clues on how silver nanoparticles are transformed in the environment.

An autonomous chemically driven artificial molecular machine uses information acquired by allosteric interactions combined with an exergonic reaction to know which way to go.

This article reviews emergent nanoscale phenomena related to nanoscale contacts, which can have a great impact on the results of nanoelectronic experiments.

Induced progressive crystallization in chalcogenide-based materials can be used to closely mimic neuronal functions, opening new paths to neuromorphic computing.

This Review discusses the fundamental challenges for making enzymatic reactions occur in surface- or volume-confined environments that may be suitable for technological applications in vitro and in vivo.

The ambiguous barrier mechanism of nuclear pore complexes has now been resolved through structural analysis with high-speed atomic force microscopy.

This Review discusses the integration of self-assembly, self-organization and reaction–diffusion processes for the creation of nanoscale synthetic systems inspired by living systems.

Gold-doped graphene combined with a bilayer gold mesh and polymeric microneedles forms a wearable sweat-based patch for real-time monitoring of glucose levels and controlled drug delivery.

Diodes, logic gates and sensors can be built from metal nanoparticles coated with charged organic ligands.

Aggregated form of single-walled carbon nanotubes can inhibit the neurochemical and behavioural effects induced by methamphetamine, offering a potential treatment for drug addiction and abuse.

Experiments show that the radiative heat transfer between two closely spaced parallel surfaces can be two to three orders of magnitude higher than Planck's law for the far field would predict.

An entangled state of two spin qubits in silicon has been prepared and measured, yielding a violation of Bell's inequality that is the largest achieved in the solid state so far.

This article reviews recent progress in the use of graphene and other two-dimensional atomic crystals in catalytic applications, highlighting the activity and potential of heterogeneous systems such as van der Waals heterostructures.

This article reviews efforts to control and monitor the magnetization in antiferromagnetic materials, as well as the prospects for antiferromagnetic spintronics applications.

Meta-analysis of the literature on quantum dot toxicity using a machine-learning tool helps reveal hidden relationships between material properties and toxicity.

Spontaneous formation of defects in the walls of leaky tumour blood vessels may explain the increased accumulation of large nanoparticles in certain tumours.

Poly(ethylene glycol) helps nanomaterials evade the immune system by modifying the composition of proteins that are adsorbed on the surface of the materials.