A growing interest in thermoelectric materials — which convert waste heat to electricity — and pressure to improve heat transfer from increasingly powerful microelectronic devices have led to improved theoretical and experimental understanding of how heat is transported through nanometer-scale materials.

Researchers have developed a new approach for forming 3-D shapes from flat, 2-D sheets of graphene, paving the way for future integrated systems of graphene-MEMS hybrid devices and flexible electronics.

A new implantable drug-delivery system has been developed using nanowires that can be wirelessly controlled. The nanowires respond to an electromagnetic field generated by a separate device, which can be used to control the release of a preloaded drug. The system was tested in mice with spinal cord injuries.

In what may be a major leap forward in the quest for new treatments of the most common form of cardiovascular disease, scientists report they have found a way to halt and reverse the progression of atherosclerosis in rodents by loading microscopic nanoparticles with a chemical that restores the animals’ ability to properly handle cholesterol.

Researchers have successfully combined multiple functions into a single smart life-like material for the first time. These ‘designer’ materials could be used in the robotics, automotive, aerospace and security industries.

Scientists can image the optical properties of individual nanoparticles with a novel microscope.

Researchers have developed a 3D gap-plasmon antenna which can focus light into a few nanometers wide space.

Inspired by octopuses and chameleons, researchers have developed technique for using a metallic nanostructure to create the first full-color, flexible display so thin it could be used to create color-changing clothing.

LEDs made from nanowires will use less energy and provide better light, scientists suggest. The researchers studied nanowires using X-ray microscopy and with this method they can pinpoint exactly how the nanowire should be designed to give the best properties.

Building self-assembled ‘molecular straws’ from bis-urea macrocycles, a research team has developed a new nanotube system that can be used to directly compare single-file diffusion dynamics with Fickian diffusion dynamics. The team uses hyperpolarized xenon-129 NMR to study gas transport dynamics in two highly homogeneous nanotubes, one with a narrow-bore, hollow interior that can accommodate xenon gas atoms only in single file.