Heating up Measurement of the spin states of a nanoparticle within the nucleus of a living cell reveals the internal temperature of that cell. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/Inna Bigun)"> Heating up Measurement of the spin states of a nanoparticle within the nucleus of a living cell reveals the internal temperature of that cell. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/Inna Bigun) Researchers in Japan have succeeded in measuring the temperature inside living cells with high precision using a new class of biocompatible quantum nanosensor – something that has been difficult to do until now even. If improved, the nanosensor could be used to characterize a wide range of biological phenomena and so help in disease diagnosis, they say. Recent years have seen the advent of a new generation of nanoscale quantum sensors that can detect the tiny magnetic fields of biological systems. Some of these sensors rely on photons and others on electrons or spin defects – typically diamond specially engineered with nitrogen–vacancy (NV) defects.…