Smuggling light through opaque materials

Electrical engineers at Duke University have discovered that changing the physical shape of a class of materials commonly used in electronics and near- and mid-infrared photonics—chalcogenide glasses— can extend their ...

Sound waves replace human hands in petri dish experiments

Mechanical engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a set of prototypes for manipulating particles and cells in a Petri dish using sound waves. The devices, known in the scientific community as "acoustic tweezers," ...

'Floppy' atomic dynamics help turn heat into electricity

Materials scientists at Duke University have uncovered an atomic mechanism that makes certain thermoelectric materials incredibly efficient near high-temperature phase transitions. The information will help fill critical ...

Green is more than skin-deep for hundreds of frog species

Frogs and toads are green for a very good reason—it makes them harder to see in their leafy environments. Good camouflage allows them to eat and not be eaten. But not all frogs have arrived at this life-saving greenness ...

How a male fly knows when to make a move on a mate

Much like people, fruit flies must decide when the time and place are right to make a move on a mate. Male fruit flies use cues such as age and pheromones to gauge their chances of success, but just how they do that on a ...

Light-trapping nanocubes drive inexpensive multispectral camera

Researchers at Duke University have demonstrated photodetectors that could span an unprecedented range of light frequencies by using on-chip spectral filters created by tailored electromagnetic materials. The combination ...

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