Precisely applying light to a gelatin-based hydrogel — an engineered scaffolding that supports cells — enables exact directional and morphological control of cellular growth, according to a new study led by researchers at YOKOHAMA National University. The finding may not only help advance engineered biological tissue, the researchers said, but also elucidate how cancer cells form and migrate in the body.

In 2016, a binary star system emitting unusually strong gamma-rays was discovered in our galactic neighborhood. Now, astronomers have found the smoking gun, or rather, a smoking trail of cool molecular gas that suggests the source responsible are jets emanating from a microquasar — one of the few known outside the Milky Way.

Scientists at Rutgers and in Estonia have used invisible light to look into tiny magnetic whirlpools, called vortices, inside a superconductor, revealing details that could help researchers develop better materials for carrying electricity.

Their study, published in Physical Review Letters, distinguishes two groups of particles trapped within those vortices, and measures properties that conventional techniques couldn’t readily separate.

For the first time, UC Riverside scientists have measured how much microplastic pollution falls on the Sierra Nevada during snowstorms and were surprised to find significant amounts even in the most remote locations.