Light

Black holes are notoriously dark objects, but now astronomers have spotted strange light coming from behind one. The X-ray echoes seem to be the result of the intense gravity of the object warping space and bending the light back around into view.

We're seeing some significant advances in efforts to leverage light-sensitive proteins to improve human health, a field known as optogenetics, but new research out of Germany flips the script on this emerging technology.

Building on a long-standing observation linking vitamin D deficiency to increased risk of colorectal cancer, a new study from UCSD has found countries where people experience lower levels of UVB light often report higher rates of colorectal cancer.

Medical endoscopes may look small, but their tips are actually several millimeters wide, making them too big to image living cells within the body. A new system, however, lets users view images through a single ultra-thin strand of optical fiber.

In 2018 astronomers claimed to have found a galaxy that didn’t have any dark matter. The controversial study sparked a debate and raised new questions about cosmology. Now, the scientists say they've uncovered further evidence of the odd deficiency.

Astronomers say they’ve closed the case on the mysterious and unprecedented dimming of the supergiant star Betelgeuse in 2019 and 2020. A new study says that the event was caused by a combination of a big dust cloud and a drop in temperature.

Engineers have found a way to make liquid metals switch between reflective surfaces or those that scatter light. The transition only requires a small zap of electricity and could be used to make mirrors that can be switched on or off.

Fascinating new research has found a link between opioid addiction and vitamin D deficiency. The research indicates subjects with low vitamin D levels may experience heightened euphoric effects from opioids, making them more susceptible to addiction.

Japanese astronomers have discovered the echoes of a “dying” supermassive black hole. While the object is quiet now, the team spotted the signatures of two huge radio jets that indicate it only recently fell silent after a bright, active phase.

Researchers have demonstrated a quantum microscope that can break through a fundamental barrier faced by regular microscopes and see tiny structures that are normally invisible. The device “squeezes” light to snap images with far greater clarity.

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.

Most conventional light microscopes have a resolution of 200 nanometers – this means that imaged objects which are any closer together won't be seen as separate items. A new high-tech microscope slide, however, boosts that figure to 40 nanometers.