Patricia Daukantas

The research team that developed ultra-low-light megapixel X-ray ghost imaging, led by Tiqiao Xiao. [Image: Tiqiao Xiao, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences] Many patients wonder if the X-rays ordered by their physicians will subject them to radiation overdoses. In the future, those medical images could require a lot less radiation.

Ling Li holds the skeletons of two differently sized sea stars, both showing the calcium carbonate skeleton. [Image: Bella Ciervo, Penn Engineering] From the simplest diatoms to iridescent mollusk shells and brilliant bird feathers, the structures built by animals have inspired scientists to develop new and improved materials.

A new solid-state material turns visible light into high-energy UV radiation at sunlight intensity. [Image: Naoyuki Harada, Kyushu University] Ultraviolet light has innumerable uses in science and manufacturing, yet such wavelengths constitute only 6% of the sunlight reaching Earth’s surface. A mere 3% of sunlight falls in the desirable 300- to 400-nm wavelength range.