Infrared

Astronomers have detected a strange radio source from near the center of the Milky Way. The signal repeats seemingly at random and can’t be attributed to any known astronomical object, leading the team to consider that it may be something brand new.

Infrared spectrometers are expensive and powerful instruments scientists use to analyze the chemical makeup of a sample, and a new research project has made a breakthrough that miniaturizes this technology so much it can be packed into a smartphone.

It looks like the James Webb Space Telescope might actually launch in October, for real this time. The perennially delayed instrument has completed its final tests and is now being prepped for shipment to the launch facility.

Scientists at the Australian National University (ANU) have developed a new type of night-vision technology that is the first of its kind, taking the shape of an ultra-thin film that can be applied directly to glasses.

A new instrument has made a short jaunt to space, as part of a mission to measure the total light ever emitted in the universe’s history. CIBER-2 will search for stray stars between galaxies by monitoring the cosmic background glow of infrared light.

Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed an intriguing new way to fight cancer by combining two types of experimental therapies. Their secret ingredient is creating a feedback loop using modified blood platelets.

An advanced microscopy technique has snapped “super-resolution” 3D images inside the brains of living mice. The method is so precise it imaged the tiny twigs on the branches of neurons, and could watch how they changed over the course of a few days.

How exactly supermassive black holes got so big remains a mystery, but a new study suggests they may have been born from supernovae of hypothetical, primordial stars far bigger than any around today. And we might soon be able to detect the leftovers.

Metal fatigue is a huge problem when it comes to building and maintaining everything from aircraft to wind turbines. An Australian system is redefining how to pinpoint structural stress using a compact alternative to traditional mechanical strain gauges.

Air conditioners and other cooling systems are among our biggest consumers of electricity. Now researchers have developed a hybrid device that can not only cool buildings drastically without using electricity, it captures solar energy to heat water.

Astronomers have found a distant galaxy that has managed to continue making stars despite the presence of a "cold quasar" raging at its core. The discovery goes against current scientific knowledge and has prompted a rethink of how galaxies evolve.

A UK team has demonstrated a novel technology for imaging the brains of infants and babies. The breakthrough is hoped to allow researchers new ways to investigate baby brain activity in natural environments without the need for expensive MRI machines.