Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Most definitions of nanotechnology focus on the control of matter, not light, but research in nanophotonics is thriving in areas as diverse as quantum optics and biological imaging.
Uncertainties in new regulations that cover the manufacture, importation and production of chemicals in the European Union could make it more difficult to commercialize nanotechnology.
As companies rush to bring new products to market, they may be cutting corners in ways that will backfire on them in the future. Spending more time on the early stages of the development process will, says Michael Helmus, save time later.
The ability to print pre-assembled optical and electronic structures with high resolution would greatly reduce the cost of a number of technologies. A printing method that uses a nanoparticle ink moves closer towards this goal.
Gold nanoparticles are routinely used as 'seeds' to grow semiconductor nanowires and it has now been discovered that the nanowires grow faster when the gold seeds are placed closer together.
A catalytic property widely used for laboratory tests and the treatment of waste water has been discovered in iron oxide nanoparticles and could lead to many applications in medical diagnostics.
Periodic nanostructures can be made over large areas using a simple low-cost method in which a thin polymer film is sandwiched between two flat plates that are then pulled apart.
A nanoscale superconducting device in which the flow of heat can be switched on and off by a gate voltage — a heat transistor — has been demonstrated at temperatures close to absolute zero.
October 2007 marked the first anniversary of the launch of Nature Nanotechnology. To mark this occasion the editors collected some highlights from the first 12 issues of the journal. The selection reflects the diversity of nanoscience and technology, and includes contributions from chemists, physicists, material scientists, engineers, biomedical researchers and others. We hope that you enjoy it.