Light

Devices such as digital cameras electronically measure levels of high-energy light, and that's good enough for most of us. Now, however, scientists have developed a mechanical alternative that works with almost all types of light.

A new experiment shows that even massive molecules containing up to 2,000 atoms can exist in two places simultaneously.

Combining a light treatment with cognitive behavior therapy has resulted in a sample of teenagers increasing their total sleep time by 45 minutes a night.

Given their name, black holes aren’t the kind of places you’d expect to see much light. But sometimes flashes of light are seen as the black holes snack on gas and dust. Earlier this year though the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy flared up in an unprecedented light show, and astronomers don’t really know why.

A galaxy seems like a hard thing to miss – let alone 39 of them – but that’s exactly what a team of astronomers has just discovered. So where have these countless stars been hiding? About 11.5 billion light-years away, in a part of the light spectrum that’s invisible to many telescopes.

While we have some idea about what kinds of signs of life to look for on other planets, many of these can also be created under natural processes. Now NASA is about to launch a new mission that can help root out these false positives by studying the interactions between stars and their planets.

Statistically it’s pretty much a given that alien life is out there, whether that’s Martian microbes or intelligent life beaming comms through the cosmos. Now, a new telescope array has joined Breakthrough Listen, scanning for flashes of laser light that alien civilizations might be giving off.

Engineers have recently focused on trying to emulate the structure of the brain with artificial synapses. Now, a team of researchers have made a new artificial synapse design that works using a light-based biotechnology technique called optogenetics.

Researchers from Harvard have shown that thin layers of silica aerogel could warm the surface of Mars and block UV radiation while still letting visible light through. That could be enough to keep water liquid and let plants photosynthesize within a given region.

Astronomers have discovered a weird star system that appears to be dimming completely at random, and none of the usual explanations seem to fit.

​Although many people do send paper off to be recycled, the recycling process isn't entirely eco-friendly – it requires a lot of power, and incorporates toxic chemicals. Now, however, scientists have developed a method of simply removing the printed text from sheets of paper, so they can be reused.

​Headlamps are certainly handy when it comes to engaging in night-time outdoor activities, but some models do have their limitations. The Spanish-designed Carbi is designed to address those problems, plus it has a few interesting bonus features.