Nature Materials - Current issue : May 2009 - Vol 8 No 5
- When semi turns to super
- India: Striving for success
- Nanocapacitors: Dawn of the undead
- Hydrogels: Cell-free protein producers
Latest content
Insight
Electron and X-ray microscopy
Download the insightElectron microscopy and X-ray imaging have been used for decades to 'look' inside matter. This Insight aims to illustrate some of the most outstanding advances in instrumentation and computation abilities in these techniques that have led to unprecedented precision in terms of spatial resolution and sensitivity to composition and physical properties.
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An optical cloak
Letter by Valentine et al.Previous demonstrations of cloaking, where objects are rendered invisible at certain frequencies, have been limited to the microwave regime. Moving us a significant step closer to invisibility in a region that can been seen by humans, a cloaking device has now been demonstrated for a broad range of frequencies in the near-infrared.
Current issue
India is the world's largest democracy and one of the fastest developing nations. However, as our contributions in this issue show, many obstacles remain before the country is able to fully capitalize on its scientific potential.
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Applicable delivery
Article by Woodrow et al.Concerns over safety and the inability to control release have hampered progress towards instilling siRNA into mucosal tissue for protection against and treatment of human disease. Nanoparticles made from FDA-approved polymers have now been loaded with large amounts of siRNA and topically applied to vaginal mucosa leading to sustained gene silencing.
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Iron pnictides
Article by Kimber et al.Fe-based superconductors have attracted tremendous interest recently. New evidence on BaFe2AS2 shows that chemical doping and pressure, both of which induce superconductivity, distort the lattice in a similar way. The result provides important information in the quest for an understanding of the mechanism behind superconductivity.
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Interpenetration control
Letter by Shekhah et al.Metal–organic frameworks are highly porous materials that are promising for drug release and gas storage. A liquid-phase-epitaxy approach that prevents interpenetration and retains the pore size is now proposed.
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Nanoparticle superlattices
Article by Cheng et al.Free-standing nanoparticle superlattices offer interesting possibilities for the design of devices free from undesired effects of substrates. DNA can now be used to obtain superlattices with control over interparticle spacing, offering an alternative perspective on the synthesis of nanoparticle solids.
Advance online publication
Doped multiferroics
Article by Yang et al.Multiferroics offer intriguing opportunities for sensing and information storage applications, although their integration into electronic devices has been difficult owing to a lack of suitable electronic control. Electric modulation of conduction is now achieved for a doped multiferroic, resulting in complete control over the ferroelectric state itself.