Ultraviolet

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.

When Captain Kirk stepped out with a tricorder in hand in Star Trek in 1966, the data sensing, scanning and analyzing gadget seemed a rather useful but far-in-the-future piece of technology. With the Swift Ray 1, we're a step closer to its reality.

Indian scientists have developed a groundbreaking method to extract keratin and melanin from discarded hair, opening up possibilities for their use in wound dressings and sunscreens.

Saturn is renowned for its rings, easily visible through an ordinary telescope. Now, using observations collected over 40 years, scientists have discovered a never-before-seen interaction between the planet and its iconic rings.

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.

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

Scientists in Japan have demonstrated a technique that 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.

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.

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

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.

Building on a long-standing observation linking vitamin D deficiency to increased risk of colorectal cancer, a new study from UCSD has found countries where people experience lower levels of UVB light often report higher rates of colorectal cancer.