Northwestern University

Decades ago, the astronomy world was taken aback by the discovery of tall light filaments spiking out from around our galaxy's central black hole. Now more filaments have been found, only these have some significant – and puzzling – differences.

Removing heavy metal pollutants from water could soon be easier than ever, thanks to an experimental new sponge. With just one treatment, the device brought contaminated water down to safely drinkable levels.

A team of researchers led by Northwestern University and the University of Texas at Austin (UT) have developed a novel graphene heart implant that’s about the thickness of a strand of hair and monitors and corrects abnormal heart rhythms using light.

Gestational diabetes, a potentially dangerous medical condition affecting pregnant women, has been seeing a spike in recent years. New research shows that the reason may have to do with how much excess light a woman encounters before sleeping.

While there are already a variety of implants that dispense medication within the body, most of them either can't be externally controlled, or they eventually have to be surgically removed. A new one, however, uses light to avoid both problems.

Astronomers have discovered a bizarre star system containing two ultra-cool dwarf stars that are so close together they orbit each other in less than a day. Oh, and they’re invisible to the human eye.

People such as singers, public speakers and teachers run the risk of injuring their vocal cords through overuse. An experimental wearable system is designed to help keep that from happening, by warning users as they approach their vocal threshold.

In order to help someone quit smoking, it's important to know how much they smoke in the first place, and to what degree they may periodically falter. An experimental new smoking-tracking necklace is designed to help in both regards.

Back in 2012, we heard about tiny biped "biobot" robots that used actual muscle tissue to walk. Well, the descendants of those bots are now equipped with LEDs, which allow them to be remotely steered in a practical fashion.

What was once thought to be just one star is actually two. What's more, the two stars are so close that they've broken a record for being the tightest ultracool binary system ever observed, revolving around each other in less than an Earth day.

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."

Scientists studying the brains of so-called “SuperAgers” have discovered a set of significantly enlarged neurons associated with memory that also appeared more resistant to characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease.