Zhang’s quest for the strange: a nanoscale approach to make two-dimensional metal from atom-thick atoms

Researchers have forged large sheets of metal that are just atoms thick, giving them the ability to study the strange properties of these materials in the laboratory. The team used the method to make 2D sheets of metal with a low melting point. The feat was reported today in Nature1.

A video of copper forging was one of the reasons whyZhang was inspired to develop the latest technique. The metal is heated in a furnace and hammered and squeezed onto anvil to make sheets of copper.

It took his team seven years to adapt the concept to work at the nanoscale. The biggest challenge was finding a sufficiently flat anvil to squeeze the metal layers. The researchers wanted to coat sapphire with MoS2 which is atomically flat.

While uncovering the ancient puppets on the remains of a large pyramid, the team discovered a pattern of sleep waves that might show which people are in a state of unresponsiveness.

What can scientists learn from a viral pandemic and what can they do to protect ourselves against future epidemics? An overview of lessons learned from the Nature Podcast

A viruses responsible for a flu epidemic has become one of the most closely examined viruses on the planet. In the five years since the pandemic over 150,000 articles have been written about it and 17 million genome sequences have been generated. We discuss the lessons virologists have learnt from this intense study of a single organism, and how these might help the world prepare for future pandemics.

The use of artificial intelligence to help researchers train for a collision of stars, and the effectiveness of expired plastic food dates helped biologists age birds’ nest.

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