Materials

Multi-compartment globular structures assembled from polymer-based materials may soon serve as cell prototypes

Adding fluorescent dyes to silkworm feed can produce colorful, luminescent silk

Synthetic peptides designed on the basis of naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides keep the germs at bay

Reverse engineering materials with a rapid, non-destructive laser-based technique can aid the fight against counterfeits

It is possible to control the differentiation of stem cells by changing the stiffness of a hydrogel

Ultrasmooth silver surfaces promise invisibility cloaks, ultrahigh-resolution lenses and other enhanced photonic devices

Electric fields can help magnetic hard drive heads write data, which may lead to higher storage densities

Laser coloring of metals is a step closer to reality as a result of improved understanding of laser-induced oxide formation

Unique organic ring compounds combine to form smart materials with tunable visual attributes

‘Nanotwinned’ metals display both ultrahigh strength and ductility by forcing crystal dislocations to behave in strange ways

An innovative surfactant design enables the synthesis of the first nanoporous silica with a tri-continuous network

Embedding quantum dots into thermally reactive polymers allows traceable detection within living systems