Light

A new study has reported on the first human tests of an experimental therapy using sound and light to treat Alzheimer's disease. The initial results are promising, with the treatment leading to some neurological and cognitive improvements.

Astronomers have detected an eerie glow of “ghost light” that could represent a previously unknown component of the solar system. Comparing data from two distinct viewpoints – Hubble and New Horizons – researchers discovered a dim, unexplained glow.

Astronomers have spotted an incredibly bright flash of light beaming halfway across the universe. The strange light was estimated to throw off more light than one quadrillion Suns, and in an ironic twist came from one of the darkest objects possible.

A small satellite developed by MIT engineers has set a new record for data transmission between a satellite and Earth. The TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD) system used a laser to beam huge amounts of data at up to 100 gigabits per second.

Scientists in Japan have demonstrated a technique that allows them to remotely control the movements of worms. By implanting light-sensitive proteins into the organisms, the team was able to make them move under green light and stop under UV.

Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created an interactive map of the universe, charting the positions and colors of 200,000 galaxies stretching from here to the very edge of the observable universe.

After three years circling the Earth, the Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 mission has come to an end following a fiery reentry. The satellite was an important tech demo for solar sailing, which could eventually propel spacecraft to other stars.

Stars are hot balls of plasma, but astronomers have now spotted a super strange one that may have a solid surface. Its intense magnetic field is strong enough to overcome its blistering temperatures and “freeze” its outer layers into a solid crust.

Ordinarily, pacemakers correct irregular heartbeats by delivering an electric shock to the entire heart – which can be painful. An experimental new one takes a different approach, and it does so by encompassing the heart with light-emitting "petals."

In order to grow big and strong, plants require the red and blue light that are part of the visible "white" light produced by the sun. Scientists have now developed a plant-boosting film, that converts the sun's UV light into more red light.

The speed record for data transmission using a single light source and optical chip has been shattered. Engineers have transmitted data at a blistering rate of 1.84 petabits per second (Pbit/s), almost twice the global internet traffic per second.

Plastics can be hard, plastics can be soft, but can plastics be both at the same time? Scientists have been exploring this question and produced a first-of-a-kind material that is pliable in some sections and stiff in others.