The driving force in materials to spontaneously form states with magnetic or electric order is of fundamental importance for basic research and device technology. The macroscopic properties and functionalities of these ferroics depend on the size, distribution and morphology of domains; that is, of regions across which such uniform order is maintained1. Typically, extrinsic factors such as strain profiles

Nonlinear optical fibres have been employed for a vast number of applications, including optical frequency conversion, ultrafast laser and optical communication1,2,3,4. In current manufacturing technologies, nonlinearity is realized by the injection of nonlinear materials into fibres5,6,7 or the fabrication of microstructured fibres8,9,10. Both strategies, however, suffer from either low optical nonlinearity

Despite the notable progress in perovskite solar cells, maintaining long-term operational stability and minimizing potentially leaked lead (Pb2+) ions are two challenges that are yet to be resolved. Here we address these issues using a thiol-functionalized 2D conjugated metal–organic framework as an electron-extraction layer at the perovskite/cathode interface. The resultant devices exhibit high power

Digital optical holograms can achieve nanometre-scale resolution as a result of recent advances in metasurface technologies. This has raised hopes for applications in data encryption, data storage, information processing and displays. However, the hologram bandwidth has remained too low for any practical use. To overcome this limitation, information can be stored in the orbital angular momentum of

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Although the idea of using nanomaterials for agriculture is promising, we must consider in detail how nanotechnology can provide advantages over standard tools.

Two studies on sub-micrometre plastic particles provide evidence of plastic accumulation in terrestrial plants.

Overcoming the challenges of plastic detection in plants has made it possible to transfer many of the lessons learned from plant–metal nanoparticle interactions to plastic nanoparticles.

The delivery of medical agents to a specific diseased tissue or cell is critical for diagnosing and treating patients. Nanomaterials are promising vehicles to transport agents that include drugs, contrast agents, immunotherapies and gene editors. They can be engineered to have different physical and chemical properties that influence their interactions with their biological environments and delivery

For life to emerge, the confinement of catalytic reactions within protocellular environments has been proposed to be a decisive aspect to regulate chemical activity in space1. Today, cells and organisms adapt to signals2,3,4,5,6 by processing them through reaction networks that ultimately provide downstream functional responses and structural morphogenesis7,8. Re-enacting such signal processing in

Optical tweezers have emerged as a powerful tool for the non-invasive trapping and manipulation of colloidal particles and biological cells1,2. However, the diffraction limit precludes the low-power trapping of nanometre-scale objects. Substantially increasing the laser power can provide enough trapping potential depth to trap nanoscale objects. Unfortunately, the substantial optical intensity required

Heterostructures combining a thin layer of quantum emitters and planar nanostructures enable custom-tailored photoluminescence in an integrated fashion. Here, we demonstrate a photonic Rashba effect from valley excitons in a WSe2 monolayer, which is incorporated into a photonic crystal slab with geometric phase defects, that is, into a Berry-phase defective photonic crystal. This phenomenon of spin-split

Understanding charge transport in DNA molecules is a long-standing problem of fundamental importance across disciplines1,2. It is also of great technological interest due to DNA’s ability to form versatile and complex programmable structures. Charge transport in DNA-based junctions has been reported using a wide variety of set-ups2,3,4, but experiments so far have yielded seemingly contradictory results

Nanotechnology is identified as a key enabling technology due to its potential to contribute to economic growth and societal well-being across industrial sectors. Sustainable nanotechnology requires a scientifically based and proportionate risk governance structure to support innovation, including a robust framework for environmental risk assessment (ERA) that ideally builds on methods established

Dielectric microcavities with quality factors (Q-factors) in the thousands to billions markedly enhance light–matter interactions, with applications spanning high-efficiency on-chip lasing, frequency comb generation and modulation and sensitive molecular detection. However, as the dimensions of dielectric cavities are reduced to subwavelength scales, their resonant modes begin to scatter light into

Despite the overwhelming success of vaccines in preventing infectious diseases, there remain numerous globally devastating diseases without fully protective vaccines, particularly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), malaria and tuberculosis. Nanotechnology approaches are being developed both to design new vaccines against these diseases as well as to facilitate their global implementation. The reasons

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) constitute a versatile platform for atomically thin optoelectronics devices and spin–valley memory applications. In monolayer TMDs the optical absorption is strong, but the transition energy cannot be tuned as the neutral exciton has essentially no out-of-plane static electric dipole1,2. In contrast, interlayer exciton transitions in heterobilayers are widely

The progress of plasmon-based technologies relies on an understanding of the properties of the enhanced electromagnetic fields generated by the coupling nanostrucutres1,2,3,4,5,6. Plasmon-enhanced applications include advanced spectroscopies7,8,9,10, optomechanics11, optomagnetics12 and biosensing13,14,15,16,17. However, precise determination of plasmon field intensity distribution within a nanogap

Nanoscale lithography and information storage in biocompatible materials offer possibilities for applications such as bioelectronics and degradable electronics for which traditional semiconductor fabrication techniques cannot be used. Silk fibroin, a natural protein renowned for its strength and biocompatibility, has been widely studied in this context. Here, we present the use of silk film as a biofunctional

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, it is time for the nanotechnology community to shine and build on its experience with nanoscale materials and drug delivery to provide knowledge and tools for COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutics development.

A combination of two different types of sites shows high catalytic performance for selective hydrogenation due to hydrogen spillover.

Hydrogen spillover is a well-known phenomenon in heterogeneous catalysis; it involves H2 cleavage on an active metal followed by the migration of dissociated H species over an ‘inert’ support1,2,3,4,5. Although catalytic hydrogenation using the spilled H species, namely, spillover hydrogenation, has long been proposed, very limited knowledge has been obtained about what kind of support structure is

Nano-formulating dexamethasone, and administering it via intravenous injection or inhalation, may help to improve anti-COVID-19 treatment efficacy by targeting the potent corticosteroid drug to hyper-activated immune cells, by potentiating its anti-oedema activity and by exploiting its anti-fibrotic effects.

Co-drawing of metallic glass with polymers of similar viscosity–temperature behaviour enables highly uniform nanoscale cross-sectional features of various shapes in functional fibres without length limit.

Micro- and nanoscale metallic glasses offer exciting opportunities for both fundamental research and applications in healthcare, micro-engineering, optics and electronics. The scientific and technological challenges associated with the fabrication and utilization of nanoscale metallic glasses, however, remain unresolved. Here, we present a simple and scalable approach for the fabrication of metallic

Nanotechnology-based antimicrobial and antiviral formulations can prevent SARS-CoV-2 viral dissemination, and highly sensitive biosensors and detection platforms may contribute to the detection and diagnosis of COVID-19.

Multilayer graphene and its stacking order provide both fundamentally intriguing properties and technological engineering applications. Several approaches to control the stacking order have been demonstrated, but a method of precisely controlling the number of layers with desired stacking sequences is still lacking. Here, we propose an approach for controlling the layer thickness and crystallographic

The growth of sodium dendrites and the associated solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer is a critical and fundamental issue influencing the safety and cycling lifespan of sodium batteries. In this work, we use in-situ 23Na magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques, along with an innovative analytical approach, to provide space-resolved and quantitative insights

Valleytronics, based on the valley degree of freedom rather than charge, is a promising candidate for next-generation information devices beyond complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology1,2,3,4. Although many intriguing valleytronic properties have been explored based on excitonic injection or the non-local response of transverse current schemes at low temperature4,5,6,7, demonstrations

The development of non-equilibrium synthetic systems provides access to innovative materials with life-like properties. Non-equilibrium systems require a continuous input of energy to retain their functional state, which makes for a fundamental difference to systems that operate at thermodynamic equilibrium. Kinetic asymmetry in the energy consumption pathway is required to drive systems out of equilibrium

The assembly of protein machines in cells is precise, rapid, and coupled to protein synthesis with regulation in space and time. The assembly of natural and synthetic nanomachines could be similarly controlled by genetic programming outside the cell. Here, we present quasi-two-dimensional (2D) silicon compartments that enable programming of protein assembly lines by local synthesis from surface-immobilized

Human breath contains many volatile metabolites. However, few breath tests are currently used in the clinic to monitor disease due to bottlenecks in biomarker identification. Here we engineered breath biomarkers for respiratory disease by local delivery of protease-sensing nanoparticles to the lungs. The nanosensors shed volatile reporters upon cleavage by neutrophil elastase, an inflammation-associated

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The COVID-19 pandemic has infected millions of people with no clear signs of abatement owing to the high prevalence, long incubation period and lack of established treatments or vaccines. Vaccines are the most promising solution to mitigate new viral strains. The genome sequence and protein structure of the 2019-novel coronavirus (nCoV or SARS-CoV-2) were made available in record time, allowing the

Breaking the mirror symmetry in twisted bilayer MoSe2 results in large scale exciton dipole oriented domains in a two-dimensional homostructure.

Van der Waals heterostructures obtained via stacking and twisting have been used to create moiré superlattices1, enabling new optical and electronic properties in solid-state systems. Moiré lattices in twisted bilayers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) result in exciton trapping2,3,4,5, host Mott insulating and superconducting states6 and act as unique Hubbard systems7,8,9 whose correlated

In monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides, localized strain can be used to design nanoarrays of single photon sources. Despite strong empirical correlation, the nanoscale interplay between excitons and local crystalline structure that gives rise to these quantum emitters is poorly understood. Here, we combine room-temperature nano-optical imaging and spectroscopic analysis of excitons in nanobubbles

The topological nature of the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE) causes a dissipationless chiral edge current at the sample boundary1,2. Of fundamental interest is whether the chirality of the band structure manifests itself in charge transport properties. Here we report the observation of large non-reciprocal charge transport3 in a magnetic topological insulator, Cr-doped (Bi,Sb)2Te3. When the surface

Lead halide perovskites have attracted increasing interest for their exciting potential in diverse optoelectronic devices. However, their charge transport properties remain elusive, plagued by the issues of excessive contact resistance and large hysteresis in ambient conditions. Here we report a van der Waals integration approach for creating high-performance contacts on monocrystalline halide perovskite

Membrane-less organelles resulting from liquid–liquid phase separation of biopolymers into intracellular condensates control essential biological functions, including messenger RNA processing, cell signalling and embryogenesis1,2,3,4. It has recently been discovered that several such protein condensates can undergo a further irreversible phase transition, forming solid nanoscale aggregates associated

The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The long incubation period of this new virus, which is mostly asymptomatic yet contagious, is a key reason for its rapid spread across the world. Currently, there is no worldwide-approved treatment for COVID-19. Therefore, the clinical and scientific communities have joint efforts to

Tuning the twist angle in bilayer transitional metal dichalcogenides yields ordered structural phases with mesoscopically modulated electronic properties revealed by the combination of electron and scanning probe microscopies.

In reviewing a recent book, Chris Toumey reflects on the impact that social networks can have on the development of a number of technologies.

Data-centric computation and the scalability limits of current computing systems call for the developments of alternative to von Neumann architecture.

Rapid digital technology advancement has resulted in a tremendous increase in computing tasks imposing stringent energy efficiency and area efficiency requirements on next-generation computing. To meet the growing data-driven demand, in-memory computing and transistor-based computing have emerged as potent technologies for the implementation of matrix and logic computing. However, to fulfil the future

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Monolayer semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) represent a unique class of two-dimensional (2D) electron systems. Their atomically thin structure facilitates gate tunability just like graphene does, but unlike graphene, TMDs have the advantage of a sizable band gap and strong spin–orbit coupling. Measurements under large magnetic fields have revealed an unusual Landau level (LL) structure1

Colloidal quantum dot (QD) solids are emerging semiconductors that have been actively explored in fundamental studies of charge transport1 and for applications in optoelectronics2. Forming high-quality QD solids—necessary for device fabrication—requires substitution of the long organic ligands used for synthesis with short ligands that provide increased QD coupling and improved charge transport3. However

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Nitric oxide, a gaseous neurotransmitter, can be electrochemically generated inside the brain to activate calcium ion channels, paving the way for implantable neurotransmitter probes.

Understanding the function of nitric oxide, a lipophilic messenger in physiological processes across nervous, cardiovascular and immune systems, is currently impeded by the dearth of tools to deliver this gaseous molecule in situ to specific cells. To address this need, we have developed iron sulfide nanoclusters that catalyse nitric oxide generation from benign sodium nitrite in the presence of modest

Dirac and Weyl nodal materials can host low-energy relativistic quasiparticles. Under strong magnetic fields, the topological properties of Dirac/Weyl materials can directly be observed through quantum Hall states. However, most Dirac/Weyl nodes generically exist in semimetals without exploitable band gaps due to their accidental band-crossing origin. Here, we report the first experimental observation

In the nervous system, dendrites, branches of neurons that transmit signals between synapses and soma, play a critical role in processing functions, such as nonlinear integration of postsynaptic signals. The lack of these critical functions in artificial neural networks compromises their performance, for example in terms of flexibility, energy efficiency and the ability to handle complex tasks. Here

Inherited retinal dystrophies and late-stage age-related macular degeneration, for which treatments remain limited, are among the most prevalent causes of legal blindness. Retinal prostheses have been developed to stimulate the inner retinal network; however, lack of sensitivity and resolution, and the need for wiring or external cameras, have limited their application. Here we show that conjugated

Vaccine efficacy can be increased by arraying immunogens in multivalent form on virus-like nanoparticles to enhance B-cell activation. However, the effects of antigen copy number, spacing and affinity, as well as the dimensionality and rigidity of scaffold presentation on B-cell activation remain poorly understood. Here, we display the clinical vaccine immunogen eOD-GT8, an engineered outer domain

The development of infrared photodetectors is mainly limited by the choice of available materials and the intricate crystal growth process. Moreover, thermally activated carriers in traditional III–V and II–VI semiconductors enforce low operating temperatures in the infrared photodetectors. Here we demonstrate infrared photodetection enabled by interlayer excitons (ILEs) generated between tungsten

Lattices of magnetic whirls are a promising model system to study phases and phase transitions in two dimensions.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

A new electrolyte gating technique probes the dynamics of the electrical double layer at the electrode–electrolyte interface. The experiments reveal an ion nanoconfinement effect that may help to explain supercapacitor charging mechanisms.