Volume 9 Issue 11, November 2014

Can peer review be improved by withholding information from referees? There is some evidence to suggest it might be, but the jury is still out, reports Alastair Brown.

Nucleic acid base-pairing offers a minimally invasive way to refill implanted drug depots with fresh payloads.

Junctions between graphene nanoribbons with different electronic properties can be created by using a bottom-up synthesis method.

The electrical conductance and the Seebeck coefficient of molecular junction devices can be simultaneously enhanced using a gate electrode.

Self-oscillation and shuttling of photons between distinct cavities in a photonic see-saw provide unexpected opportunities in nano-optomechanics.

The relationship between the electronic structure and the thermoelectric properties of molecular junctions is experimentally probed using a three-terminal device.

Non-local moulding of the vacuum field in a photonic cavity structure enables control of the spontaneous emission of quantum dots.

Colloidal quantum wells can be used to achieve continuous-wave-pumped stimulated emission and, if placed in a cavity, lasing.

p–n junctions are formed in heterostructures made of pristine and nitrogen-doped graphene nanoribbons.

A concentration cell that produces voltages of ~0.5 V for 100 hours can be created by tethering redox-active molecules to magnetic nanoparticles and then using them to maintain a sharp concentration gradient with the help of an external magnetic field.

A green tea-based drug carrier offers a delivery system where both the drug and carrier possess therapeutic effects.

A device using optomechanical torsional motion can be used to efficiently transfer photons from one photonic cavity to another.

A study of the coupling between a nanowire and a focused light beam allows determination of the vectorial structure of the optomechanical interaction, and demonstrates that bidimensional dynamical backaction governs the nanowire dynamics.

The optimization of the growth parameters of methylammonium lead halide nanostructures results in a high and reproducible power-conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells.

Single DNA hybridization events are detected using a biosensor that exploits plasmonic enhancements of whispering gallery modes in microsphere cavities.

The size of non-fluorescent nanodiamonds can be tracked in cells through coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering, which could be used for following cellular pathways quantitatively.

Working in a small group allows you to interact closely with your advisor and your colleagues, and forces you to take a lot of initiative, says Huan Li.