'Flamingo:' High-powered microscopy coming to a scientist near you
Modern microscopy has given scientists a front-row seat to living, breathing biology in all its technicolor glory. But access to the best technologies can be spotty.
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Optics & Photonics news
New tissue-imaging technology could enable real-time diagnostics, map cancer progression
A new microscope system can image living tissue in real time and in molecular detail, without any chemicals or dyes, report researchers at the University of Illinois.
Archimedes' screw inspires researchers to devise a novel particle-trapping laser beam
An active field of research, laser optical trapping works to control the movement and position of particles of different sizes and shapes. The ability to move small particles in a precise and controlled manner is important ...
A new way to measure the light-warping properties of hyperbolic metamaterials
Manipulating light in a variety of ways—shrinking its wavelength and allowing it to travel freely in one direction while stopping it cold in another—hyperbolic metamaterials have wide application in optical communications ...
Best ever at splitting light, new material could improve LEDs, solar cells, optical sensors
Place a chunk of the clear mineral Iceland spar on top of an image and suddenly you'll see double, thanks to a phenomenon called double refraction—a result of a quality of the crystal material called optical anisotropy. ...
Squeezing light at the nanoscale—Ultra-confined light could detect harmful molecules
Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a new technique to squeeze infrared light into ultra-confined spaces, generating an intense, nanoscale antenna that ...
Biological light sensor filmed in action
Using X-ray laser technology, a team led by researchers of the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI has recorded one of the fastest processes in biology. In doing so, they produced a molecular movie that reveals how the light sensor ...
Team develops novel micro-embossing equipment for precision optical microstructures
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed a novel micro-embossing device for manufacturing precision glass lenses with high image quality. The lenses have the resolution required for state-of-the-art optical ...
Researchers report micro-CT scan of a mouse embryo at unprecedented resolution
One of the most vital research paths in genetics is the relationship between genes and embryonic growth. Noninvasive, whole-body 3-D imaging of embryos is highly important for establishing these relationships in order to ...
Breakthrough in cell imaging could have major impact in crime labs
A Virginia Commonwealth University researcher has developed a procedure for identifying the source of cells present in a forensic biological sample that could change how cell types are identified in samples across numerous ...
Multiple lasers could be replaced by a single microcomb
Every time we send an e-mail, a tweet, or stream a video, we rely on laser light to transfer digital information over a complex network of optical fibers. Dozens of high-performance lasers are needed to fill up the bandwidth ...
Fluorescence microscopy gets the BAMM treatment
A novel technique developed by researchers at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics (CNBP) will help shine new light on biological questions by improving the quality and quantity of information that can ...
New laser makes silicon 'sing'
Yale scientists have created a new type of silicon laser that uses sounds waves to amplify light. A study about the discovery appears June 8 in the online edition of the journal Science.
A laser that tracks like a hound
University of Adelaide researchers have created a laser that can "smell" different gases within a sample.
Transparent, conductive films promising for developing flexible screens
Researchers have demonstrated large-scale fabrication of a new type of transparent conductive electrode film based on nanopatterned silver. Smartphone touch screens and flat panel televisions use transparent electrodes to ...
Imaging renders decayed texts visible once more
In the Harry Potter series, a tap of the wand and a whispered incantation transforms a blank roll of parchment into detailed map of Hogwarts castle.
Physicists devise method to reveal how light affects materials
Physicists developed a way to determine the electronic properties of thin gold films after they interact with light. Nature Communications published the new method, which adds to the understanding of the fundamental laws ...
Berkeley Lab paves the way for real-time ptychographic data streaming
What began nearly a decade ago as a Berkeley Lab Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) proposal is now a reality, and it is already changing the way scientists run experiments at the Advanced Light Source (ALS)—and, ...
Physicists catch light in the eye of the storm
Similar to the eye of a hurricane, physicists of research institute AMOLF, the University of Amsterdam and the University of Texas at Austin, have captured light in the eye of an optical vortex. The research will be published ...
Capturing light in a waveguide array
Cheaper and more efficient photonic devices, such as lasers, optical fibers, and other light sources may be possible with confined light that is unaffected by imperfections in the material that confines it, according to new ...
Researchers devise new way to make light interact with matter
A new way of enhancing the interactions between light and matter, developed by researchers at MIT and Israel's Technion, could someday lead to more efficient solar cells that collect a wider range of light wavelengths, and ...
A fresh sensation in sensing technology
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a technology classification that includes home appliances and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and actuators that connect and exchange data. One key IoT technology ...
Deep learning extends imaging depth and speeds up hologram reconstruction
Deep learning, which uses multi-layered artificial neural networks, is a form of machine learning that has demonstrated significant advances in many fields, including natural language processing, image/video labeling and ...
Engineers invent a noninvasive technique to correct vision
Nearsightedness, or myopia, is an increasing problem around the world. There are now twice as many people in the US and Europe with this condition as there were 50 years ago. In East Asia, 70 to 90 percent of teenagers and ...
Novel power meter opens the door for in-situ, real-time monitoring of high-power lasers
High-power lasers are now widely used in additive manufacturing and laser welding systems to precisely cut and weld metal, making all kinds of metal parts for medical devices, aerospace applications, automotive industries, ...
Light-emitting particles illuminate understanding of cellular malfunctions
Advances in cell biology, materials science and imaging are combining to create tools that will allow researchers to track in real time and in super-fine resolution what happens inside a single cell.
An elastic fiber filled with electrodes set to revolutionize smart clothes
EPFL has developed tiny fibers made of elastomer that can incorporate materials like electrodes and nanocomposite polymers. The fibers can detect even the slightest pressure and strain, and can withstand deformation of close ...
Antiferromagnetic materials allow for processing at terahertz speeds
In high-speed fiber optics, it is often the case that either the bandwidth of the transmission media cannot keep up with the data flow or the data simply cannot be processed fast enough. Then the picture judders or the resolution ...
Could a particle accelerator using laser-driven implosion become a reality?
Laser pulse compression technology invented in the late 1980s resulted in high-power, short-pulse laser techniques, enhancing laser intensity 10 million-fold in a quarter of a century.
Thin carbon sheets for shielding against microwaves
Carbon composites have many useful properties, with new potential uses being discovered all the time. Researchers have developed a thin sheet variety to exploit its electromagnetic properties for microwave shielding.
Team puts the optical microscope under the microscope to achieve atomic accuracy
Over the last two decades, scientists have discovered that the optical microscope can be used to detect, track and image objects much smaller than their traditional limit—about half the wavelength of visible light, or a ...
First chip-scale broadband optical system that can sense molecules in the mid-IR
Researchers at Columbia Engineering have demonstrated, for the first time, a chip-based dual-comb spectrometer in the mid-infrared range, that requires no moving parts and can acquire spectra in less than 2 microseconds. ...
Electron tomography technique leads to 3-D reconstructions at the nanoscale
Understanding the microscopic structure of a material is key to understanding how it functions and its functional properties. Advances in fields like materials science have increasingly pushed abilities to determine these ...
Bendy laser beams can examine human tissue like never before
Light-sheet fluorescence microscopy is an exciting new imaging method that harnesses thin sheets of light to make images of large biological samples such as fly and fish embryos, mice and even pieces of human tissue. And ...
Combing light for tell-tale chemical fingerprints
A laser-based technique that can scan and lock on to molecular vibrational signals that are normally too complex to resolve clearly could enable production of sensors for multi-species identification in harsh environments, ...
Researchers demonstrate a novel approach for measuring brain function connectivity
Measuring optical blood flow in the resting human brain to detect spontaneous activity has for the first time been demonstrated by Wright State University imaging researchers, holding out promise for a better way to study ...
New technique reveals 3-D shape of nanostructure's polariton interaction
Nanostructures are the holy grail of new materials. The wonder material graphene, for example, is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal pattern that, because of its conductivity, flexibility, transparency ...
Researchers mimic comet moth's silk fibers to make 'air-conditioned' fabric
Fabrics made from silkworm fibers have long been treasured for their beautiful luster and refreshing coolness. Columbia Engineering researchers have discovered that fibers produced by the caterpillars of a wild silk moth, ...
New method eliminates guesswork when lenses go freeform
Lenses and mirrors with freeform surfaces enable designers to focus light within optical devices that are lighter, more compact, and more effective than ever before.
Innovative light-delivery technique improves biosensors
There is a continuing need for practical chip-based sensors that can be used at the point of care to detect cancer and other diseases. An innovative way to inject light into tiny silicon microdisks could help meet this need ...
Detecting the shape of laser pulses
A team of researchers at the Center for Relativistic Laser Science, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) have developed a method to measure the shape of laser pulses in ambient air. Unlike conventional strategies, ...
Processes in the atomic microcosmos revealed
Physicists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have successfully generated controlled electron pulses in the attosecond range. They used optical traveling waves formed by laser pulses of varying wavelengths. ...
Researchers use LiDAR to locate invasive fish and preserve a national treasure
For decades the National Park Service has been locked in a battle against lake trout, an invasive fish with a voracious appetite that has overtaken Yellowstone Lake and upended its formerly thriving ecosystem. According to ...
What causes the sound of a dripping tap—and how do you stop it?
Scientists have solved the riddle behind one of the most recognisable, and annoying, household sounds: the dripping tap. And crucially, they have also identified a simple solution to stop it, which most of us already have ...
Printing microelectrode array sensors on gummi candy
Microelectrodes can be used for direct measurement of electrical signals in the brain or heart. These applications require soft materials, however. With existing methods, attaching electrodes to such materials poses significant ...
Physicists show that it is impossible to mask quantum information in correlations
Information is typically stored in physical systems, such as memory devices. But in a new study, physicists have investigated an alternative way to store and hide information, which is by storing it only in the quantum correlations ...
Bedrock in West Antarctica rising at surprisingly rapid rate
The earth is rising in one part of Antarctica at one of the fastest rates ever recorded, as ice rapidly disappears and weight is lifted off the bedrock, a new international study has found.
Einstein proved right in another galaxy
An international team of astronomers have made the most precise test of gravity outside our own solar system.
Researchers achieve unprecedented control of polymer grids
Synthetic polymers are ubiquitous—nylon, polyester, Teflon and epoxy, to name just a few—and these polymers are all long, linear structures that tangle into imprecise structures. Chemists have long dreamed of making polymers ...
Template to create superatoms could make for better batteries
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have discovered a novel strategy for creating superatoms—combinations of atoms that can mimic the properties of more than one group of elements of the periodic table. These superatoms ...
HESS J1943+213 is an extreme blazar, study finds
An international group of astronomers have carried out multi-wavelength observations of HESS J1943+213 and found evidence supporting the hypothesis that this gamma-ray source is an extreme blazar. The finding is reported ...
New study finds US oil and gas methane emissions 60 percent higher than estimated
The U.S. oil and gas industry emits 13 million metric tons of the potent greenhouse gas methane from its operations each year, 60 percent more than estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a new ...
Chemists teach an enzyme a new trick, with potential for building new molecules
Princeton chemists have found a way to make a naturally occurring enzyme take on a new, artificial role, which has significant implications for modern chemistry, including pharmaceutical production. Their work appears in ...
How do horses read human emotional cues?
Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that horses integrate human facial expressions and voice tones to perceive human emotion, regardless of whether the person is familiar or not.
High Court: Online shoppers can be forced to pay sales tax
States will be able to force more people to pay sales tax when they make online purchases under a Supreme Court decision Thursday that will leave shoppers with lighter wallets but is a big financial win for states.
Water can be very dead, electrically speaking
In a study published in Science this week, the researchers describe the dielectric properties of water that is only a few molecules thick. Such water was previously predicted to exhibit a reduced electric response but it ...
Research identifies how snowshoe hares evolved to stay seasonally camouflaged
Many animals have evolved fur or feather colors to blend in with the environment and hide from predators. But how do animals stay camouflaged when their environment changes with each new season? Researchers at the University ...
Mice not only experience regret, but also learn to avoid it in the future
Experiencing regret can leave a "bad taste" in one's mouth and drive an individual to compensate for one's losses. This immediate post-regret phenomenon was once thought to be unique to humans, but it has been recently demonstrated ...
'Red nuggets' are galactic gold for astronomers
About a decade ago, astronomers discovered a population of small, but massive galaxies called "red nuggets." A new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory indicates that black holes have squelched star formation in these ...
New research provides expanded insights into the brain's response to opioids
Opioids are powerful painkillers that act on the brain, but they have a range of harmful side effects including addiction. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) in collaboration with researchers ...
'Stealth sheet' hides hot objects from prying infrared eyes
Infrared cameras are the heat-sensing eyes that help drones find their targets, even in the dead of night or through heavy fog.
The Rosetta stone of active galactic nuclei deciphered
A galaxy with at least one active supermassive black hole – named OJ 287 – has caused many irritations and questions in the past. The emitted radiation of this object spans a wide range – from the radio up to the highest ...
Zebrafish's near 360 degree UV-vision knocks stripes off Google Street View
Tiny freshwater fish have a view of the world that blows Google Street View out of the water—using different parts of their eyes to deliver optimum uses of colour, black-and-white and ultraviolet.
Cells stop dividing when this gene kicks into high gear, study finds
Scientists seeking to unlock the secrets of cellular aging have identified a gene that triggers senescence, a phenomenon in which cells stop dividing.
Researchers engineer bacteria to exhibit stochastic Turing patterns
How did the zebra get its stripes, or the leopard its spots? Mankind has been trying to answer such questions since our earliest recorded days, and they resonate throughout the extant mythologies and folklores of an earlier ...
Research team reverse way potassium channels work from bacteria to human
For the first time ever, researchers at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) have identified a specific amino acid residue that is responsible for inverting the communication between the opening of the ...
Crowding inside cells may influence many functions and major diseases
Among the most studied protein machines in history, mTORC1 has long been known to sense whether a cell has enough energy to build the proteins it needs to multiply as part of growth. Because faulty versions of mTORC1 contribute ...
Not junk: 'Jumping gene' is critical for early embryo
A so-called "jumping gene" that researchers long considered either genetic junk or a pernicious parasite is actually a critical regulator of the first stages of embryonic development, according to a new study in mice led ...
Fish's use of electricity might shed light on human illnesses
Deep in the night in muddy African rivers, a fish uses electrical charges to sense the world around it and communicate with other members of its species. Signaling in electrical spurts that last only a few tenths of a thousandth ...
Scientists discover new gene expression mechanism with possible role in human disease
When cells grow and divide to ensure a biological function—such as a properly working organ—DNA must be unwound from its typical tightly packed form and copied into RNA to create proteins. When this process goes awry—if ...
Bogong moths first insect known to use magnetic sense in long-distance nocturnal migration
Each spring, millions of nocturnal Bogong moths hatch across breeding grounds throughout southeastern Australia before flying over 1,000 kilometers through the dark night to reach a limited number of high alpine caves in ...
Scientists discover new species of ancient marine lizard
University of Alberta paleontologists discovered a new species of marine lizard that lived 70 to 75 million years ago, with its muscle and skin remarkably well preserved.
New laser technology shows success in particle accelerators
Lasers—used in medicine, manufacturing and made wildly popular by science fiction—are finding a new use in particle physics.
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