Ultraviolet

While 3D printing is a burgeoning technology, it's limited by the fact that items can only be printed from a single material. A new system still uses just one print resin, but that substance can form into two different solid materials as needed.

Ultraviolet light is well-known for its ability to kill germs, including ones that cause food to spoil. And while there doesn't tend to be any food-preserving UV light in our refrigerators, a new consumer device is out to change that.

Scientists have devised a method of using fish scales to convey encrypted messages. Not only would the technology divert seafood industry waste from landfills, it should also be less costly than existing options such as special inks.

In order to smuggle illegal drugs into prisons, people are now soaking materials like paper and fabric in such drugs, letting the materials dry, then passing them along to inmates. A new portable device, however, sees through that ruse.

General Motors has received a patent for a fascinating self-cleaning technology that could eliminate the annoyance of smudgy fingerprints all over touchscreens. It's a photocatalytic system, triggered by ultraviolet LEDs built into the RGB matrix.

It's always a shame when you buy fresh produce, only to have it spoil in the fridge before you can use it. The Aurora system is designed to keep that from happening, using a combination of ultraviolet light and vacuum packing.

There are many parts of the world in which fresh water may be plentiful, but it's also full of harmful microbes. An experimental new filter is able to purify such water for drinking, and it's powered solely by sunlight.

Researchers at Lancaster University have developed a new material that can store energy for months, and potentially years, at a time. The material can be activated by light, and then release the pent-up energy on demand in the form of heat.

Powdery mildew is a widespread fungal disease that attacks many crops. And while it typically has to be treated using fungicides, special ultraviolet light-emitting robots could soon prove to be a better way to go.

Bioplastics are already a more eco-friendly alternative to their petroleum-based counterparts. Now, scientists have created a clear bioplastic film that not only blocks harmful UV radiation, but that is also more airtight than traditional plastics.

Although we've seen devices such as wrist bands that warn of UV exposure, users still have to, you know … look at the things. Glatus sunglasses instead verbally notify you, plus they'll reportedly let you know if you're too drowsy to drive.

​If we're ever going to get on top of the whole plastic waste problem, a partial solution may lie in substances that fix themselves when broken, instead of having to be discarded. With that in mind, many groups have been developing self-healing materials – and one of the latest functions like blood.