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Ancient Egyptian pigment inspires new bright brain imaging tool

For medical imaging, innovative contrast agents are in high demand. Materials scientist Robert Nissler has therefore developed an ultra-bright near-infrared nano-pigment designed to provide high-resolution images of intricate brain structures.

29 Oct 2026

New eye model guides lighting designs for aging adults

Researchers have developed a new computational model that accounts for the effects of aging on our eyes' ability to discriminate color.

14 Oct 2026

Chemists develop blueprint for designing powerful fluorescent materials for better disease detection

Chemists at the University of Bath have discovered how tiny molecular changes can transform the color and brightness of fluorescent probes based on the blue molecule azulene, paving the way for more powerful imaging tools for detecting diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s and cancer.

14 Oct 2026

Innovative material uses visible light to disinfect chronic wounds

Chronic wounds place a burden on both patients and the healthcare system. Researchers at Empa are therefore working on an innovative material that releases active ingredients when exposed to visible light.

6 Oct 2026

New nondestructive imaging technique tracks immune cell health

When a patient is facing certain cancers or an immune condition, clinicians turn to their white blood cells for clues about the progression of both diseases and their treatments.

1 Sep 2026

New optical control platform blocks and restores neural signaling

DGIST (President Kunwoo Lee) announced that a research team led by Professor Ji Won Um of the Center for Synapse Diversity and Specificity, Department of Brain Sciences, in collaboration with a research team led by Professor Alice Ting at Stanford University, has developed LATeNT, a novel optical control platform that uses light to block signal transmission between neurons and subsequently restore normal signaling.

19 Aug 2026

Improved indoor lighting may prevent nearsightedness in children

Research has already shown that the more time children spend playing with screens indoors instead of playing outdoors, the more likely they are to develop myopia.

18 Aug 2026

Salk scientists use DNA origami to track molecular movements

Scientists often describe life as a series of chemical reactions. Pallav Kosuri, PhD, describes life as movement. Chemical reactions are how you drive the movement of atoms, proteins, cells, and bodies-without movement, there is no life.

14 Aug 2026

Scientists combine imaging and phototherapy in a single tool against glioblastoma

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive form of brain cancer.

6 Aug 2026

A common dietary nutrient feeds a gut pathway linked to atrial fibrillation

Researchers linked higher plasma TMAO to prevalent atrial fibrillation in 5,090 people and found that TMAO or choline supplementation accelerated AF onset, progression, atrial remodeling, and electrical dysfunction in mice. Inhibiting gut microbial TMA production lowered circulating TMAO and delayed AF in mice, identifying a potential therapeutic pathway that now requires human testing.

27 Jul 2026

Dissolving microneedles could improve photodynamic skin cancer treatment

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses a light-sensitive drug and a specific wavelength of light to destroy cancer cells.

20 Jul 2026

New laser technology detects counterfeit alcohol through sealed bottles

A laser-based technology being developed at Adelaide University could soon help authorities detect deadly counterfeit alcohol, expose wine fraud and even identify dangerous chemicals inside sealed bottles – all without opening them.

17 Jul 2026

Wearable forehead patch tracks brain-water shifts during sleep at home

A soft, wireless NIRS forehead patch tracked water-sensitive brain signals during 16 overnight home sleep recordings in four healthy men. The signals changed with EEG/EOG-defined sleep stages, suggesting a new way to study sleep-linked brain-fluid dynamics, although the device did not directly measure CSF flow or glymphatic clearance.

9 Jul 2026

Achieve precise, noncontact tissue ablation at low power levels

445 nm diode lasers have already been used successfully and safely for cholesteatoma surgery.

30 Jun 2026

New eye imaging technology captures clearer details of retina

Modern OCT devices can look inside the eye without a scalpel - but they do not always capture everything that matters. Some critical information is simply lost, blurred by scattered photons.

24 Jun 2026

Advanced chip-based sensor identifies traumatic brain injury markers

Researchers have developed a chip-based metasurface biosensor that can detect traumatic brain injury (TBI) biomarkers at extremely low levels.

23 Jun 2026

New polymer hydrogel contact lenses heal scratches with UV light

Contact lenses are a great vision correction option for many, but if one of them gets damaged, there is little to do other than throw it away.

23 Jun 2026

Light-controlled molecular switch wakes lung cancer cells for treatment

Researchers from ETH Zurich have developed a molecular switch that is controlled by light. It wakes lung cancer cells up from a protective dormant state so that they are more accessible for treatment.

15 Jun 2026

New AI chip identifies meibomian gland dysfunction within milliseconds

A research team from Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Tsinghua University has developed a compact optical AI chip that can identify meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD)-a major cause of dry eye disease-with more than 96% accuracy by analyzing the tissue's spectral signatures.

11 May 2026

Stanford researchers create noninvasive way to deliver light deep inside the body

Light has an increasing number of applications in biology and medicine – it can be used to stimulate cell growth, manipulate neural signals, and treat some cancers – but it doesn't easily pass through tissue.

13 Apr 2026