Ultraviolet

Handheld device could soon keep dangerous drugs from going to prison

Ben Coxworth — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 20:21:36 GMT

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.

Category: Good Thinking, Lifestyle

Tags: University of Bath, Drugs, Detection, Fluorescent, Ultraviolet

All-in-one gadget sees the invisible to accurately spot problem wounds

Bronwyn Thompson — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 06:02:48 GMT

When Captain Kirk stepped out with a tricorder in hand in the very first episode of Star Trek in 1966, the data-sensing, -scanning and -analyzing gadget seemed to be a rather useful but very far-in-the-future piece of technology.

Category: Medical, Science

Tags: Western University, Infections, Wound, Diagnostic devices, Smartphone diagnostics, Ultraviolet, Infrared, Inflammatory, Healing

From hair waste to high-tech: Turning salon scraps into sunscreen

Ben Coxworth — Mon, 01 May 2023 19:51:39 GMT

When you think of all the human hair that gets cut off and discarded every day in salons around the world … well, that's a lot of wasted hair. That said, scientists in India have devised a new technique for extracting compounds from it, for use in products like wound dressings and sunscreen.

Category: Science

Tags: American Chemical Society, Hair, Ultraviolet, Wound, Recycling

40 years of Saturn data uncovers never-before-seen ring phenomenon

Paul McClure — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 04:31:55 GMT

Saturn is renowned for its rings, easily visible through an ordinary telescope. Now, using observations collected over 40 years, scientists have discovered that the planet’s iconic rings may not be as calm as they look, uncovering a never-before-seen interaction between the planet and its iconic rings.

Category: Space, Science

Tags: Saturn, Hubble, Voyager, Cassini, Ultraviolet, Atmosphere, NASA

GM patents self-cleaning touchscreens that erase fingerprints overnight

Loz Blain — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 02:40:16 GMT

The system sounds relatively simple, but requires some fairly fundamental changes to the pixel array behind the screen. Where most screens use red, green and blue LEDs, set at different intensities, to create their full color palette, GM's design would add a fourth pixel throughout the matrix, specifically tuned to the invisible ultraviolet wavelength.

Category: Technology

Tags: Self-cleaning, Touchscreen, GM, General Motors, Screens, Ultraviolet, Titanium dioxide, Display

Aurora uses UV rays and vacuum packing to boost foods' fridge life

Ben Coxworth — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 18:13:44 GMT

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.

Category: Around The Home, Lifestyle

Tags: Food technology, Storage, Ultraviolet, KAUST, Refrigerator, CES 2023

Hydrogen and UV breaks down toxic PFAS "forever" chemicals in water

Michael Irving — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 02:18:10 GMT

PFAS are among the most insidious pollutants, thanks to their ubiquity, their long life and their growing list of linked health concerns. But now researchers at the University of California, Riverside have developed a new method to break them down more effectively, using hydrogen and UV light.

Category: Environment, Science

Tags: Water, Cleaning, Purification, Chemicals, toxic, Pollution, UC Riverside, University of California Riverside, Ultraviolet, Hydrogen

Remote controlled worms can follow stop and go lights

Michael Irving — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 06:21:24 GMT

Scientists in Japan have demonstrated a technique that essentially 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.

Category: Biology, Science

Tags: Light, Optogenetics, Optics, Ultra-violet, Ultraviolet, Japan, Animals

Thin film boosts plant growth by converting sun's UV rays into red light

Ben Coxworth — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 19:59:53 GMT

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.

Category: Science

Tags: Hokkaido University, Light, Ultraviolet, Plants, Agriculture, Thin Film

Sunlight exposure may help rehabilitate tumor-afflicted sea turtles

Ben Coxworth — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 20:48:00 GMT

It's a sad fact that many sea turtles now suffer from fibropapillomatosis, a disease in which debilitating tumors grow on various parts of the body. There may be new hope, however, as a recent study suggests that exposure to sunlight could help afflicted turtles recover.

Category: Science

Tags: Florida Atlantic University, Treatment, Sunlight, Ultraviolet, New Atlas Audio