A touch of gold sends crystals electric with excitement

A touch of gold—or another noble metal—can change the structure of a crystal and its intrinsic properties, physicists at the University of Warwick have demonstrated in a display of modern-day alchemy.

Pyroelectric peptide microtubes turn heat to electric currents

Many peptides and proteins have an innate ability to assemble into long, slender fibers called fibrils and other shapes. Now, researchers have found a way to harness this property to create tubular structures of diphenylalanine ...