Featured
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Article |
Realistic molecular model of kerogen’s nanostructure
Molecular models of kerogens provide a detailed picture of their nanostructure in organic-rich shale.
- Colin Bousige
- , Camélia Matei Ghimbeu
- & Benoit Coasne
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Letter |
Biomimetic 4D printing
Printed hydrogel composites with plant-inspired architectures dynamically change shape on immersion in water to yield prescribed complex morphologies.
- A. Sydney Gladman
- , Elisabetta A. Matsumoto
- & Jennifer A. Lewis
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Letter |
Photoexcited quantum dots for killing multidrug-resistant bacteria
Light-activated quantum dots can selectively kill multidrug-resistant bacteria by altering the cellular redox environment.
- Colleen M. Courtney
- , Samuel M. Goodman
- & Prashant Nagpal
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Article |
Genesis and growth of extracellular-vesicle-derived microcalcification in atherosclerotic plaques
The formation of atherosclerotic plaques involves the aggregation of calcifying extracellular vesicles and the formation of microcalcifications.
- Joshua D. Hutcheson
- , Claudia Goettsch
- & Elena Aikawa
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Letter |
Combinatorial codon scrambling enables scalable gene synthesis and amplification of repetitive proteins
A codon-scrambling algorithm that exploits the codon redundancy of amino acids enables the high-throughput gene synthesis of repetitive proteins.
- Nicholas C. Tang
- & Ashutosh Chilkoti
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Article |
Microstructural heterogeneity directs micromechanics and mechanobiology in native and engineered fibrocartilage
Tissue-engineered constructs with non-fibrous, proteoglycan-rich microdomains match the microstructural, micromechanical and mechanobiological properties of native fibrocartilaginous tissue.
- Woojin M. Han
- , Su-Jin Heo
- & Dawn M. Elliott
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Letter |
The role of crystal diversity in understanding mass transfer in nanoporous materials
The efficient design of nanoporous materials crucially depends on understanding the mass transfer mechanism. Using micro-imaging techniques we now show that apparently identical crystals can exhibit different uptake rates.
- Julien Cousin Saint Remi
- , Alexander Lauerer
- & Jörg Kärger
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Article |
Correlated metals as transparent conductors
Electronic many-body effects are used to control the electron effective mass, and thus the plasma energy and electrical conductivity, of thin films of the correlated metals SrVO3 and CaVO3, making them good candidates as transparent conductors.
- Lei Zhang
- , Yuanjun Zhou
- & Roman Engel-Herbert
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Article |
Self-assembled RNA-triple-helix hydrogel scaffold for microRNA modulation in the tumour microenvironment
Tissue-adhesive scaffolds made by the conjugation of RNA triple helices to dendrimers lead to ∼90% shrinkage of tumours two weeks after implantation in a triple-negative breast cancer mouse model.
- João Conde
- , Nuria Oliva
- & Natalie Artzi
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Article |
Hydrogels with tunable stress relaxation regulate stem cell fate and activity
Hydrogels with faster stress relaxation enhance the spreading, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of embedded mesenchymal stem cells.
- Ovijit Chaudhuri
- , Luo Gu
- & David J. Mooney
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Article |
A three-dimensional engineered tumour for spatial snapshot analysis of cell metabolism and phenotype in hypoxic gradients
An engineered tumour model based on a rolling scaffold–tumour composite strip that can be rapidly disassembled for snapshot analyses preserves cell-to-cell interactions and enables spatial mapping of cell metabolism and cell phenotype.
- Darren Rodenhizer
- , Edoardo Gaude
- & Alison P. McGuigan
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Editorial |
Nurturing entrepreneurship
The Innovation Forum on Quantum Technologies aims to help academics start technology companies.
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Letter |
Tough bonding of hydrogels to diverse non-porous surfaces
A hydrogel-design strategy achieves transparent and conductive bonding of synthetic hydrogels to a variety of non-porous surfaces, with interfacial toughness values over 1,000 J m−2.
- Hyunwoo Yuk
- , Teng Zhang
- & Xuanhe Zhao
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Letter |
Activating and optimizing MoS2 basal planes for hydrogen evolution through the formation of strained sulphur vacancies
Molybdenum disulphide is a promising non-precious catalyst for hydrogen evolution because it contains active edge sites and an inert basal plane. Introducing sulphur vacancies and strain now leads to activation and optimization of the basal plane.
- Hong Li
- , Charlie Tsai
- & Xiaolin Zheng
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Review Article |
Programmable and adaptive mechanics with liquid crystal polymer networks and elastomers
This Review discusses stimuli-responsive liquid crystalline polymer networks and elastomers as materials with programmable mechanics for use in functional devices.
- Timothy J. White
- & Dirk J. Broer
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Article |
Deep blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes with very high brightness and efficiency
N-Heterocyclic carbene Ir(III) complexes, used as deep blue phosphorescent emitters and as electron-blocking dopants in organic LEDs, allow the realization of devices with very high brightness and reduced efficiency roll-off.
- Jaesang Lee
- , Hsiao-Fan Chen
- & Stephen R. Forrest
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Article |
Cell-mediated fibre recruitment drives extracellular matrix mechanosensing in engineered fibrillar microenvironments
A synthetic fibrous material with tunable mechanics and architecture allows researchers to reveal that cells use fibre recruitment to probe and respond to the mechanics of fibrillar matrices.
- Brendon M. Baker
- , Britta Trappmann
- & Christopher S. Chen
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Article |
Reversible dilatancy in entangled single-wire materials
A single, self-coiled wire is shown to exhibit a Poisson function ranging from above 1 in compression to below 0 in tension. Such material architectures may offer new functionalities in mechanical devices.
- David Rodney
- , Benjamin Gadot
- & Laurent Orgéas
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Article |
A sunblock based on bioadhesive nanoparticles
A water-resistant sunblock based on bioadhesive nanoparticles encapsulating a model ultraviolet filter at low concentrations adheres to the stratum corneum without subsequent intra-epidermal or follicular penetration.
- Yang Deng
- , Asiri Ediriwickrema
- & W. Mark Saltzman
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Article |
Magnetically assisted slip casting of bioinspired heterogeneous composites
An additive manufacturing technique combining an aqueous-based slip-casting process with magnetically directed particle assembly makes complex-shaped heterogeneous composites with tunable local microstructure and composition.
- Hortense Le Ferrand
- , Florian Bouville
- & André R. Studart
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Article |
Sequence heuristics to encode phase behaviour in intrinsically disordered protein polymers
Intrinsically disordered protein polymers can be designed to encode tunable lower or upper critical solution temperatures in physiological solutions.
- Felipe García Quiroz
- & Ashutosh Chilkoti
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Article |
Matrix elasticity of void-forming hydrogels controls transplanted-stem-cell-mediated bone formation
Matrix elasticity, which has been shown to regulate the fate of mesenchymal stem cells in vitro, can also be harnessed to therapeutically control bone formation.
- Nathaniel Huebsch
- , Evi Lippens
- & David J. Mooney
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Letter |
Optimal wrapping of liquid droplets with ultrathin sheets
Highly bendable yet unstretchable ultrathin sheets can wrap a liquid droplet to form an optimal non-spherical shape that minimizes the unwrapped interfacial area, regardless of interfacial energies and the sheet’s mechanical properties.
- Joseph D. Paulsen
- , Vincent Démery
- & Narayanan Menon
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Article |
Differential basal-to-apical accessibility of lamin A/C epitopes in the nuclear lamina regulated by changes in cytoskeletal tension
A structural epitope on A-type lamins is significantly more exposed in the apical than in the basal nuclear lamina of human mesenchymal stem cells and fibroblasts under environmental conditions known to upregulate cell contractility.
- Teemu O. Ihalainen
- , Lina Aires
- & Viola Vogel
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Article |
Flexible high power-per-weight perovskite solar cells with chromium oxide–metal contacts for improved stability in air
The use of a chromium oxide interlayer separating the perovskite film from the metal contacts improves the stability of perovskite solar cells in air. Deposited on thin plastic foils, these ultralight devices power model airplanes and dirigibles.
- Martin Kaltenbrunner
- , Getachew Adam
- & Siegfried Bauer
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Article |
Fluctuation-driven mechanotransduction regulates mitochondrial-network structure and function
Vascular smooth muscle cells can harness fluctuations in external cyclic stretching by altering their cytoskeletal organization and the associated mitochondrial network.
- Erzsébet Bartolák-Suki
- , Jasmin Imsirovic
- & Béla Suki
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Article |
Fractal heterogeneity in minimal matrix models of scars modulates stiff-niche stem-cell responses via nuclear exit of a mechanorepressor
A minimal matrix model of scars is shown to elicit scar-like phenotypes from mesenchymal stem cells and to exhibit less cell-to-cell noise than homogeneously stiff gels, owing to the slow nuclear exit of a scar-marker mechanorepressor.
- P. C. Dave P. Dingal
- , Andrew M. Bradshaw
- & Dennis E. Discher
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Letter |
Liquid-crystalline ordering of antimicrobial peptide–DNA complexes controls TLR9 activation
Liquid-crystalline arrangements of complexes of DNA and antimicrobial peptides can lead to multivalent electrostatic interactions that drastically amplify TLR9-mediated immune responses.
- Nathan W. Schmidt
- , Fan Jin
- & Gerard C. L. Wong
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Article |
The role of quasi-plasticity in the extreme contact damage tolerance of the stomatopod dactyl club
Nanoindentation and spectroscopy measurements show that the impact surface of the dactyl club—a hammer-like device that stomatopods use to shatter hard seashells—has a quasi-plastic response that enhances the damage tolerance of the clubs.
- Shahrouz Amini
- , Maryam Tadayon
- & Ali Miserez
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Article |
Accelerated wound healing by injectable microporous gel scaffolds assembled from annealed building blocks
Injectable microporous scaffolds assembled from annealed microgel building blocks whose properties can be tailored by microfluidic fabrication facilitate rapid wound healing in vivo.
- Donald R. Griffin
- , Westbrook M. Weaver
- & Tatiana Segura
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Letter |
In vivo delivery of transcription factors with multifunctional oligonucleotides
Clinical translation of transcription factor therapeutics is limited by delivery problems. Now, an oligonucleotide that can bind and deliver transcription factors with high in vivo efficiency and treat acetaminophen-induced liver injury is reported.
- Kunwoo Lee
- , Mohammad Rafi
- & Niren Murthy
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Article |
Biodegradable silicon nanoneedles delivering nucleic acids intracellularly induce localized in vivo neovascularization
Efficient in vivo cytosolic delivery of nucleic acids through cell-membrane puncturing by an array of biodegradable silicon nanoneedles induces sustained local neovascularization in muscle.
- C. Chiappini
- , E. De Rosa
- & E. Tasciotti
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Letter |
Hybrid optical–electrical detection of donor electron spins with bound excitons in silicon
A scheme of hybrid optical–electrical detection of an ensemble of donor electrons bound to phosphorus in silicon reveals electron spin Rabi oscillations and long coherence times, setting the foundations for a single-electron spin read-out technique.
- C. C. Lo
- , M. Urdampilleta
- & J. J. L. Morton
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Article |
Phonon-induced diamagnetic force and its effect on the lattice thermal conductivity
The thermal conductivity of diamagnetic InSb decreases as a magnetic field is increased at low temperatures and is attributed to local dynamic diamagnetism, bringing forth evidence of the magnetic response of phonons.
- Hyungyu Jin
- , Oscar D. Restrepo
- & Joseph P. Heremans
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Article |
Synthesis of ultrathin polymer insulating layers by initiated chemical vapour deposition for low-power soft electronics
Initiated chemical vapour deposition enables the conformal growth of ultrathin insulating polymer layers. These polymer films can be deposited on a broad range of materials used for organic and flexible electronics, including graphene.
- Hanul Moon
- , Hyejeong Seong
- & Sung Gap Im
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Article |
Atomic origin of ultrafast resistance switching in nanoscale electrometallization cells
Nanoscale resistance-switching cells that operate by means of electrochemical modification of metallic filaments are promising devices for post-CMOS electronics. Simulations of operating conductive cells are now used to describe electrochemical reactions.
- Nicolas Onofrio
- , David Guzman
- & Alejandro Strachan
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Article |
A photoreversible protein-patterning approach for guiding stem cell fate in three-dimensional gels
An approach that exploits two bioorthogonal photochemistries to achieve reversible immobilization of full-length proteins in synthetic hydrogels allows for the reversible differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells to osteoblasts.
- Cole A. DeForest
- & David A. Tirrell
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News & Views |
Cool electronics
Although heat removal in electronics at room temperature is typically governed by a hierarchy of conduction and convection phenomena, heat dissipation in cryogenic electronics can face a fundamental limit analogous to that of black-body emission of electromagnetic radiation.
- Jungwan Cho
- & Kenneth E. Goodson
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News & Views |
Negative capacitance detected
The experimental detection of negative capacitance in ferroelectrics rekindles hopes that the phenomenon could be used to further push the miniaturization of conventional transistors.
- Gustau Catalan
- , David Jiménez
- & Alexei Gruverman
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Letter |
Negative capacitance in a ferroelectric capacitor
Direct measurement of negative capacitance is now reported in a ferroelectric capacitor based on a thin, epitaxial ferroelectric PZT film.
- Asif Islam Khan
- , Korok Chatterjee
- & Sayeef Salahuddin
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Letter |
Phonon black-body radiation limit for heat dissipation in electronics
Thermal resistance at room temperature is mostly due to scattering by defects and interfaces. Now, heat dissipation in cryogenic electronic devices is demonstrated to be due to phonon black-body radiation, without any scattering.
- J. Schleeh
- , J. Mateos
- & A. J. Minnich
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Letter |
Ultrasoft microgels displaying emergent platelet-like behaviours
Deformable synthetic microgel particles bearing molecular-recognition motifs for fibrin fibres are shown to augment clotting in vitro and mimic in vivo clot contraction, thus recapitulating the functions of natural platelets.
- Ashley C. Brown
- , Sarah E. Stabenfeldt
- & Thomas H. Barker
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Article |
Collective and individual migration following the epithelial–mesenchymal transition
Malignant cells in tumours invade surrounding tissues. Single-cell-resolution measurements of the migration—through micropillar arrays—of a cell population following the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition show intriguing emergent dynamics.
- Ian Y. Wong
- , Sarah Javaid
- & Daniel Irimia
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Article |
Interplay of matrix stiffness and protein tethering in stem cell differentiation
Recent work has proposed that both protein tethering to the extracellular matrix and matrix porosity can regulate stem cell differentiation. It is now shown that differentiation is driven by matrix stiffness independently of tethering and porosity.
- Jessica H. Wen
- , Ludovic G. Vincent
- & Adam J. Engler
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Article |
Extracellular matrix stiffness and composition jointly regulate the induction of malignant phenotypes in mammary epithelium
Malignant phenotypes in the mammary epithelium have been correlated to increases in extracellular matrix stiffness. It is now shown that the effect of matrix stiffness in normal mammary epithelial cells can be offset by an increase in basement-membrane ligands and that both the stiffness and composition of the matrix are sensed by the β4 integrin. The results suggest that the relationship between matrix stiffness and composition is a more relevant predictor of breast-cancer progression.
- Ovijit Chaudhuri
- , Sandeep T. Koshy
- & David J. Mooney
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Article |
Etchable plasmonic nanoparticle probes to image and quantify cellular internalization
Nanoparticle-based fluorescence imaging does not usually allow cell membrane-bound particles and intracellular particles to be distinguished from each other. Now, using functionalized silver nanoparticles as plasmonic probes, this distinction can be made following a rapid, non-toxic etching process that selectively removes the extracellular nanoparticles but leaves the intracellular nanoparticles unharmed.
- Gary B. Braun
- , Tomas Friman
- & Erkki Ruoslahti
Biodegradable scaffold with built-in vasculature for organ-on-a-chip engineering and direct surgical anastomosis
Spinning top-ology
Square strength
Homogenized steel