Nanowires shed a blue light on photonics

Quantum dots shed light on diagnoses.

Featured article: Kim S, Lim YT, Soltesz EG, De Grand AM, Lee J, Nakayama A, Parker JA, Mihaljevic T, Laurence RG, Dor DM, Cohn LH, Bawendi MG, Frangioni JV. Near-infrared fluorescent type II quantum dots for sentinel lymph node mapping. Nat Biotechnol 2004;22:93–7. Near-infrared (NIR) (700 –2500 nm) in vivo imaging with semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) can offer nonradioactive extraction of me...

Genotype networks shed light on evolutionary constraints.

An evolutionary constraint is a bias or limitation in phenotypic variation that a biological system produces. One can distinguish physicochemical, selective, genetic and developmental causes of such constraints. Here, I discuss these causes in three classes of system that bring forth many phenotypic traits and evolutionary innovations: regulatory circuits, macromolecules and metabolic networks....

Semiconductor nanowires for subwavelength photonics integration.

This article focuses on one-dimensional (1D) semiconductor subwavelength optical elements and assesses their potential use as active and passive components in photonic devices. An updated overview of their optical properties, including spontaneous emission, ultrafast carrier dynamics, cavity resonance feedback (lasing), photodetection, and waveguiding, is provided. The ability to physically man...

Studies shed light on sunscreen efficacy.

A Quantum of Light Shed on Classical Potentials and Fields*

The classical theory of retarded electromagnetic potentials is usually attributed to Liénard (1898) and Wiechert (1900), who developed a mathematical model based on Euclidean geometry and general signal retardation analogous to that occurring with light propagation. The Liénard-Wiechert model represents the amalgamation of dual concepts: the discrete particle (the source) and the continuous wav...