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Amoeba are unusual creatures that form when a dispersed population of cells spontaneously comes together and reorganizes itself into a multicellular macroscopic organism. To do this, a few leader cells emit chemical pulses that cause the other individual cells to...

MIT researchers have developed a novel “photonic” chip that uses light instead of electricity — and consumes relatively little power in the process. The chip could be used to process massive neural networks millions of times more efficiently than today’s...

Researchers have developed a new way of operating miniature quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) to rapidly measure the absorption spectra of different organic molecules in the air simultaneously. The technique offers a sensitive method for detecting low concentrations of volatile organic...

University of Arizona scientists are working to perfect a new type of holographic display technology that can be incorporated into eyeglasses to superimpose video images on a user’s real-world view. UA optical sciences professors Nasser Peyghambarian and Lloyd LaComb Jr....

Efforts to create reliable light-based quantum computing and quantum key distribution for cybersecurity could benefit from a Los Alamos National Laboratory study that demonstrates a new method for creating thin films to control single-photon emission. The approach exploits strain at...

A team of biophysicists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT; Moscow, Russia) and colleagues from France and Germany has created a new fluorescent protein that not only glows when irradiated with ultraviolet and blue light, it is...

Early-stage research by a university team in Sweden suggests that a new laser setup will double the energy of a proton beam – potentially offering a route to much wider access for high-precision cancer therapy. While proton beam treatment is...

Researchers have developed a unique high-resolution imaging method that can capture mid-infrared spectral images of fast events or dynamic processes that take place on the order of milliseconds. This spectral range is used for many applications because it can reveal...

Most of us know optical lenses as curved, transparent pieces of plastic or glass, designed to focus light for microscopes, spectacles, cameras, and more. For the most part, a lens’ curved shape has not changed much since it was invented...

Researchers from Washington State University and Ohio State University have developed a low-cost, easy way to make custom lenses that could help manufacturers avoid the expensive molds required for optical manufacturing. Led by Lei Li, assistant professor in the School...