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Electrochemically oxidizing and reducing an inverse polymer-gel opal causes it to swell and shrink, which alters the wavelength of the light it diffracts brightly from ultraviolet through the visible to the near infrared.

A deconvolution correlation was derived between the COD values of effluent samples from the Hospital of the Federal University of Santa Maria and their integrated UV-absorbances in the 285-295 nm range.

Researchers in Korea have developed a novel material for the anodein rechargeable batteries, which they say could make them much more efficient and extend significantly the length of time between charges.

Two staining methods have been adapted and evaluated for the detection/quantification and differentiation (viable vs non-viable) of metalworking fluid-associated mycobacteria and the background bacterial flora.

Forget the so-called morning banana diet, blue is the new yellow and researchers in Europe and the US have no intention of slipping up when it comes to explaining why ripened bananas glow blue under ultraviolet light.

The systemic infection of <em>Nicotiana benthamiana</em> plants with the Pepper mild mottle virus has been studied by multicolor fluorescence imaging to detect differences between two strains of the virus during the infection process and to establish a correlation between the virulence and changes induced in the host plant.

Astroscientists are using various spectroscopic techniques to root out relatively complex molecules lurking in the interstellar medium. The complexity of naphthalene, discovered in space, and corannulene, could provide new evidence of a cosmic origin for the precursor molecules of life on Earth.

A survey of the blue and green pigments used in the Early Classic and Late Classic periods in Calakmul (300-850 A.D.) has been performed using Raman and UV-visible spectroscopies to have a better understanding of their chemical composition and origin.

A team in Japan has used UV spectroscopy and microscopy to study the interaction between liposome clusters and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) as a model of how living cell plasma membranes might be affected. The work could lead to the development of a universal detector for EDCs.

Optimization of a light emitting diode (LED)-based excitation system for the detection of pretreated fingerprint fluorescence is described. It employs blue and green LED arrays composed of ninety LED units with suitable low pass filters.

Wear sunscreen! It has been the advice of the medical profession, governments, and parents everywhere for several years. But, a report published this summer by the Environmental Working Group suggests that many popular sun protection products are at best ineffective, and at worst hazardous to health.

The radiative lifetime of single-walled carbon nanotubes has been enhanced by exciton coupling to surface plasmon polaritons in metallic nanostructures, as illustrated by their two-photon liminescence spectra.

A new analytical approach to testing for testosterone and related steroids in body fluids using non-specific micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) has been developed. The partial filling (PF) technique was employed, which means the approach is suitable for detection by either ultraviolet spectrophotometry or electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Individual software modules developed previously for fluorescence and structural analyses have been integrated and a new program for the assignment of tryptophan residues to spectral-structural classes has been introduced. They form part of a web-based protein fluorescence and structural toolkit (PFAST).

US researchers are using ultraviolet spectroscopy and other techniques to help them answer the question - how does the reactivity of metallofullerenes correlate with the size of the cage? Their work could lead to the further development of more effective contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The application of optical noninvasive methods in dermatology and cosmetology is discussed, laser scanning microscopy and optical coherent tomography being the most promising methods for this application.

Analysis of low-molecular-weight amines is crucial in biomedical research, medical diagnostics, environmental science, and food safety. Now, UV/Vis spectroscopy has assisted the development of new fluorescent compounds that glow in the presence of specific amines for sensor applications.

A two-step procedure is presented for calibrating the output of a multicolor flow cytometer in units of antibodies bound per cell. The fluorescence channels of the flow cytometer are calibrated using Ultra Rainbow beads. The second step involves a biological standard such as a lymphocyte with a known number of antibody binding sites.

UV/Vis spectroscopy is routinely used in the quantitative determination of solutions of transition metal ions and highly conjugated organic compounds. In this primer by William Reusch of Michigan State University, the reader is given a thorough grounding in all the basics of the technique with the aid of some useful interactive graphics and problems.

Visible spectroscopy is key to the search for green fireworks, not only figuratively but from the literal position of searching for environment friendly bangs and flashes.