Volume 8 Issue 10, October 2013

Negative and null results are routinely produced across all scientific disciplines, but rarely get reported. The key to combat the biases arising from this mismatch lies in disseminating all details about a work, rather than just positive results.

Nanotechnology researchers have recently been targeted by armed eco-terrorists. Chris Toumey examines the motivation of these attackers.

Protein corona form rapidly around nanoparticles mixed with human plasma and can affect nanoparticle pathophysiology.

By using lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles, fibre-optic sensors can display sensitivities several orders of magnitude greater than those of existing fluorescent techniques.

DNA molecules can be programmed to execute any dynamic process of chemical kinetics and can implement an algorithm for achieving consensus between multiple agents.

Magnetic ordering in two-dimensional arrangements of nanomagnets can be repeatedly obtained by annealing an artificial spin ice.

A theoretical study proposes the use of molecular magnets in a type of transistor in which the flow of collective spin excitations transports and processes information.

This Review examines recent advances in the use of micro- and nanoscale devices for studying epigenetic modifications, including covalent DNA modifications, differences in histone proteins and higher-order chromatin structures.

Quantum interference between two indistinguishable surface plasmons is demonstrated in a nanoscale plasmonic circuit.

The size and helicity of magnetic skyrmions in chiral-lattice magnets can be controlled by changes in the spin–orbit coupling.

Bright luminescence from upconversion nanocrystals can be achieved by combining high-excitation irradiance with a high activator concentration. The enhanced brightness allows a single nanocrystal to be tracked, which can be used in bioimaging applications, for example.

Circulating tumour cells from patients with early-stage cancers have now been captured and characterized by using functionalized graphene oxide nanosheets.

Micromagnetic simulations describe both the current-induced motion of skyrmions in nanostripes and the nucleation of single skyrmions by spin-polarized currents.

Reversible switching of ferroelectric polarization can now be achieved in oxides grown epitaxially on silicon.

Chemical controllers made from DNA can be programmed to implement any dynamic behaviour compatible with chemical kinetics.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes can target tumours in a two-step approach in which nanotubes modified with morpholino oligonucleotide sequences bind to cancer cells that have been pre-targeted with antibodies modified with oligonucleotide strands complementary to those on the nanotubes.

Quantitative label-free snapshot proteomics can be used to obtain time-resolved profiles of human plasma corona formed on silica and polystyrene nanoparticles, and shows that rapid corona formation affects early nanoparticle pathophysiology.