ナノテクノロジーの歴史に残る画期的な論文のうち、数多くのものがNatureで発表されています。その最初のものがバックミンスターフラーレンの発見を報じた1985年の論文でした。その業績が評価されたRobert Curl、Harry KrotoとRichard Smalleyは、1996年にノーベル化学賞を受賞しました。1990年には、IBM研究所のDon Eiglerと Erhard Schweizerが、走査型トンネル顕微鏡を使って、ニッケル表面上に35個のキセノン原子で「IBM」の文字を作り、世界の話題をさらいました。翌年の1991年には、NECの飯島澄男が、カーボンナノチューブに関する論文を初めて発表して、新たな研究分野を開き、それは今日も発展を続けています。その後もナノ材料、分子モーター、一分子エレクトロニクス、量子情報などナノテクノロジーのさまざまな領域に関する先駆的な論文が次々とNatureで発表されました。ナノサイエンスとナノテクノロジーの研究は今も活発に進められており、Nature、Nature Nanotechnology両誌は、これまでの輝かしい実績をさらに伸ばしていきたいと考えています。

NEWS AND VIEWS

Self assembly: Molecular origami
Lloyd M. Smith
Nature 440, 283-284 (16 March 2006)
doi:10.1038/440283a
Full Text of Self assembly: Molecular origami | See paper by RothemundSee paper by Rothemund

 

Semiconductors: Quantum optics by design
Claire Gmachl
Nature Materials 5, 169-170 (March 2006)
doi:10.1038/nmat1603
Full Text of Semiconductors: Quantum optics by design | See paper by Frogley et alSee paper by Frogley et al

 

Molecular electronics: Chemistry of molecules of physics of contacts?
Victor V. Zhirnov and Ralph K. Cavin
Nature Materials 5, 11-12 (January 2006)
doi:10.1038/nmat1554
Full Text of Molecular electronics: Chemistry of molecules of physics of contacts? | See paper by He et alSee paper by Hannon et al

 

Thin films: Lean and mean superconductivity
Ali Yazdani
Nature Physics 2, 151-152 (March 2006)
doi:10.1038/nphys256
Full Text of Thin films: Lean and mean superconductivity | See paper by Özer et alSee paper by Özer et al

 

Nanowires: How clean is too clean?
Ulrich Gösele
Nature 440, 34-35 (2 March 2006)
doi:10.1038/440034a
Full Text of Nanowires: How clean is too clean? | See paper by Hannon et alSee paper by Hannon et al

 

Imaging: Self-illuminating quantum dots light the way
John V Frangioni
Nature Biotechnology 24, 326-328 (March 2006)
doi:10.1038/nbt0306-326
Full Text of Imaging: Self-illuminating quantum dots light the way | See paper by So et alSee paper by So et al

 

REVIEW

Neuroscience nanotechnology: progress, opportunities and challenges
Gabriel A. Silva
Nature Reviews Neuroscience 7, 65-74 (January 2006)
doi:10.1038/nrn1827
Abstract of Neuroscience nanotechnology: progress, opportunities and challenges | Full Text of Neuroscience nanotechnology: progress, opportunities and challenges
This article reviews the current applications of nanotechnology in basic and clinical neuroscience, and examines the conceptual and technical challenges it faces in tackling the complexities of the nervous system.

 

PAPERS

Nanomotor rotates microscale objects
Rienk Eelkema, Michael M. Pollard, Javier Vicario, Nathalie Katsonis, Blanca Serrano Ramon, Cees W. M. Bastiaansen, Dirk J. Broer and Ben L. Feringa
Nature 440, 163 (9 March 2006)
doi:10.1038/440163a
First paragraph of Nanomotor rotates microscale objects | Full text of Nanomotor rotates microscale objects | Supplementary Information of Nanomotor rotates microscale objects
A molecular motor in a liquid-crystal film uses light to turn items thousands of times larger than itself.

 

Superplastic carbon nanotubes
J. Y. Huang, S. Chen, Z. Q. Wang, K. Kempa, Y. M. Wang, S. H. Jo, G. Chen, M. S. Dresselhaus and Z. F. Ren
Nature 439, 281 (19 January 2006)
doi:10.1038/439281a
First paragraph of Superplastic carbon nanotubes | Full text of Superplastic carbon nanotubes | Supplementary Information of Superplastic carbon nanotubes
Conditions have been discovered that allow extensive deformation of rigid single-walled nanotubes.

 

Gain without inversion in semiconductor nanostructures
M. D. Frogley, J. F. Dynes, M. Beck, J. Faist and C. C. Phillips
Nature Materials 5, 175-178 (March 2006)
doi:10.1038/nmat1586
First paragraph of Gain without inversion in semiconductor nanostructures | Full text of Gain without inversion in semiconductor nanostructures | See News and Views by Gmachl See News and Views by Gmachl
Laser gain without inversion has been observed in a solid for the first time and used to reduce the speed of light by a factor of 40

 

The influence of the surface migration of gold on the growth of silicon nanowires
J. B. Hannon, S. Kodambaka, F. M. Ross and R. M. Tromp
Nature 440, 69-71 (2 March 2006)
doi:10.1038/nature04574
First paragraph of The influence of the surface migration of gold on the growth of silicon nanowires | Full text of The influence of the surface migration of gold on the growth of silicon nanowires | See News and Views by GöseleSee News and Views by Gösele
Silicon nanowires are normally grown under ultra-clean conditions but experiments show that excessive cleanliness can actually stunt their growth.

 

Structural diversity in binary nanoparticle superlattices
Elena V. Shevchenko, Dmitri V. Talapin, Nicholas A. Kotov, Stephen O'Brien and Christopher B. Murray
Nature 439, 55-59 (5 January 2006)
doi:10.1038/nature04414
First paragraph of Structural diversity in binary nanoparticle superlattices | Full text of Structural diversity in binary nanoparticle superlattices | Supplementary Information of Structural diversity in binary nanoparticle superlattices
Various combinations of metal, semiconductor, magnetic and dielectric nanoparticles have been used to design novel materials with programmable physical and chemical properties.

 

Hard superconductivity of a soft metal in the quantum regime
Mustafa M. Özer, James R. Thompson and Hanno H. Weitering
Nature Physics 2, 173-176 (March 2006)
doi:10.1038/nphys244
First paragraph of Hard superconductivity of a soft metal in the quantum regime | Full text of Hard superconductivity of a soft metal in the quantum regime | See News and Views by YazdaniSee News and Views by Yazdani
Ultra-thin films of lead retain their superconducting properties, even when they are just a few atomic layers thick

 

Self-illuminating quantum dot conjugates for in vivo imaging
Min-Kyung So, Chenjie Xu, Andreas M Loening, Sanjiv S Gambhir & Jianghong Rao
Nature Biotechnology 24, 339-343 (March 2006)
doi:10.1038/nbt1188
Abstract of Self-illuminating quantum dot conjugates for in vivo imaging | Full text of Self-illuminating quantum dot conjugates for in vivo imaging | Supplementary Information of Self-illuminating quantum dot conjugates for in vivo imaging | See News and Views by FrangioniSee News and Views by Frangioni
Quantum dots that do not require external illumination to fluoresce display improved performance when used for in vivo imaging.

 

Folding DNA to create nanoscale shapes and patterns
Paul W. Rothemund
Nature 440, 297-302 (16 March 2006)
doi:10.1038/nature04586
Abstract of Folding DNA to create nanoscale shapes and patterns | Full text of Folding DNA to create nanoscale shapes and patterns | Supplementary Information of Folding DNA to create nanoscale shapes and patterns | See News and Views by SmithSee News and Views by Smith
By combining short "staple strands" of DNA with longer "scaffold strands" of DNA it is possible to self-assemble a wide range of different two-dimensional nanostructures of arbitrary shape.

 

Metal-free silicon—molecule-nanotube testbed and memory device
Jianli He, Bo Chen, Austen K. Flatt, Jason J. Stephenson, Condell D. Doyle and James M. Tour
Nature Materials 5, 63-68 (January 2006)
doi:10.1038/nmat1526
Abstract of Metal-free silicon—molecule-nanotube testbed and memory device | Full text of Metal-free silicon—molecule-nanotube testbed and memory device | Supplementary Information of Metal-free silicon—molecule-nanotube testbed and memory devices | See News and Views by Zhirnov and CavinSee News and Views by Zhirnov and Cavin
A new testbed has eliminated the effects of nanofilament formation on measurements of the electronic properties of single molecules.