Researchers have developed a quick and cost-effective way to determine the age of malaria mosquitoes using mid-infrared spectroscopy. The new technology is vital for assessing the effectiveness of control interventions as only older mosquitoes can transmit the parasite. The scientists say that their approach could also help with other mosquito-borne and insect-borne diseases. The researchers [..]

Researchers have successfully generated strongly nonclassical light using a modular waveguide device, a waveguide-based light source. By combining a waveguide optical parametric amplifier (OPA) module created for quantum experiments and a specially designed photon detector, researchers produced light in a superposition of coherent states. The achievement represents a crucial step toward creating faster and more [..]

Researchers have developed a new platform for studying human hepatitis C immunity. The method marries microfluidic technology (which allows scientists to precisely manipulate fluid at a microscopic scale) with liver organoids (three-dimensional cell clusters that mimic the biology of real human livers). In the new hepatitis C immunity modeling system, liver organoids grown from adult [..]

Optoelectronic synapses combine non-volatile memory and photodetection functionalities in the same device. It paves the path for the realization of artificial retina systems which can capture, pre-process, and identify images on the same platform. Researchers have used a graphene/Ta2O5/graphene heterostructure to demonstrate optoelectronic synapses. The graphene interface exhibits synapse characteristics when visible electromagnetic radiation of [..]

A group of experimental physicists developed a device that behaves like a memristor while acting on quantum states and encoding and transmitting quantum information. The device is a quantum memristor. Creating such a device is difficult because the dynamics of a memristor defy usual quantum behavior. The physicists have overcome the challenge by using single [..]

The bright-field (BF) optical microscope is a traditional bioimaging tool that has been recently tested for depth discrimination during the evaluation of specimen morphology. However, existing approaches require dedicated instrumentation or extensive computer modeling. Now, researchers have developed a direct method for three-dimensional (3D) imaging in BF microscopy, applicable to label-free samples, where they use [..]

Researchers have calculated the maximum theoretical limit for optoelectronic devices, the point at which the laws of quantum mechanics prevent microchips from becoming any faster. Optoelectronics are the fastest devices globally — systems that use light to control electricity. The new study outlines the limit for optoelectronics by calculating the speed at which the most potent [..]

A fast-evolving understanding of materials and physical processes is critical to security applications. Febetrons generate X-rays to photograph objects moving at extremely high speeds as part of a detonation and allow the measurement of their position, velocity, shape, and internal density profiles. Powering the Febetrons are capacitor modules. Researchers have developed a new “K-module” device [..]

Researchers have developed a temperature sensing method using naturally occurring atom-like defects in diamonds. The defects, known as Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) defects, are naturally occurring flaws in diamonds (two adjacent carbon atoms replaced by a nitrogen atom and a hole). They are easy to obtain and have unusual quantum and nonlinear optical properties. Among them is [..]

A new MRI innovation that makes cancerous tissue glow in medical images could help doctors more accurately detect and track cancer progression over time. The MRI innovation creates images in which cancerous tissue appears to light up compared to healthy tissue, making it easier to see. This new technology has promising potential to improve cancer [..]

In-sensor computing allows image sensors with internal computing capabilities to reduce communication latency and power consumption for machine vision in distributed systems and robotics. Because of its tunable electrical and optical properties and amenability for heterogeneous integration, two-dimensional semiconductors have several advantages in creating intelligent vision sensors. Researchers have developed a multipurpose infrared image sensor [..]

Dual-detection impulsive vibrational spectroscopy (DIVS) is a Raman spectroscopy technique. It permits monitoring two types of vibrational signals simultaneously. It offers ultrafast, real-time spectral detection over the low-frequency, or terahertz area of the Raman spectrum and the fingerprint region at a rate of 24,000 spectra per second. The fingerprint and terahertz spectral areas provide complementary [..]

Increasing the acquisition speed of three-dimensional volumetric imaging is essential – particularly in biological imaging – to unveil specimens’ structural dynamics and functionalities in detail. In conventional laser scanning fluorescence microscopy, volumetric images are constructed from optical sectioning images sequentially acquired by changing the observation plane, limiting the acquisition speed. Researchers have developed a novel [..]

Researchers have significantly improved micro-computed tomography, specifically imaging with phase contrast and high brilliance x-ray radiation. They have developed a new micro-structured optical grating and combined it with new analytical algorithms. The new approach makes it possible to depict and analyze the microstructures of samples in greater detail and investigate a broad spectrum of samples. [..]

A research team developed a technique that uses condensation to noninvasively refill liquid marbles with water. The method could improve the viability of applications such as drug delivery. It could also establish improved opportunities for the droplet-size microreactors to see use in opto- and microfluidics. Liquid marbles are droplets of solution that wrap in a [..]

A study on ground squirrels shows, not only do mitochondria produce bioenergy in the cone-shaped photoreceptors in the retina of the eye, they also act as micro-lenses that redirect light to the tapering outer reaches of these cells where light is converted into electrical signals. The finding provides a clearer picture of the evolution and [..]

Lenses play a crucial role in the quality of the images produced by a machine vision system since they determine the sharpness of the image on the camera sensor. As lenses transmit light the first consideration is the light wavelengths used, as this has a major influence on both chromatic aberration and light transmission. This [..]

Raman spectroscopy is a powerful analytical technique that has been spotlighted for bacteria detection and diagnosis of diseases ranging from infection to cancer. However, as Raman signals are usually weak and can easily be swamped by interfering background signals, deploying Raman spectroscopy can be very challenging in the clinic. One solution to enhance the signals [..]

Researchers developed and tested a new blood vessel imaging approach that will allow investigators to capture images of blood vessels at different spatial scales, which will speed up imaging-based research in the lab. The “VascuViz” method, tested in mouse tissues, uses a quick-setting polymer mixture to fill blood vessels and make them visible in multiple [..]

Researchers have invented a low-cost continuous fever screening system – SIFTER – based on an RGB-thermal camera. The system can automatically take temperature readings of people walking by, going about their own business, up to three meters away – no one has to stand in front of a camera for a few seconds to take [..]