A single, attributable and machine-readable factual assertion - the smallest unit of publishable information that can be uniquely identified and attributed to its author – typically expressed in RDF. The minimal components of a nanopublication are as follows: * the factual assertion itself, in the form subject, predicate and object (e.g. malaria is_a disease); * provenance information about the nanopublication, defining its authorship and creation date; * supporting information (optional), providing context for the assertion; * a unique identifier for the nanopublication, in the form of a URI; * an integrity key that ensures that the nanopublication is in its original form and has not been altered.