A new light-responsive molecular switch can "wake-up" dormant cancer cells, making them receptive to treatment. This could help stop patients from experiencing disease relapse. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/3SOEW3z 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

In new work, researchers demonstrated an artificial eye that can react to changing light conditions within just a few seconds. The device can accurately identify objects in environments that include both bright light and dark shadow. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4oMYGR3 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Researchers demonstrated phase-contrast imaging of tiny biomolecules by leveraging an intense continuous-wave laser, increasing the resolution of the electron microscope. The scheme allows the imaging of molecules previously too small to study. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4b6XeTQ 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

📣 OPN's July/August issue is now live 📣 The latest issue has stories about using partially coherent light for optical communications, optics in art, hollow-core fiber for long-haul optical networks and so much more! Check it out: https://bit.ly/44obFPL 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Image of the Week: Staying Visible Colorful chemoluminescent light sticks illuminate bikes during a bike visibility social ride in Ottawa, Canada. [ 2025 #OPNPhotoContest ] Yaryna Mamchur, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

✨Be included in OPN's "Optics in 2026" issue✨ Have you conducted notable peer-reviewed research in the optics and photonics field? Send us a brief summary to be featured in the year-end special! More information via the link: bit.ly/4vVvFFd 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Check out OPN's latest Then and Now column, all about quantum dot fabrication and some of the milestone manufacturing methods that enable real-world applications. Read the story: https://bit.ly/4fOatw5 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Researchers used a metasurface to improve a solar telescope. “We believe this is one of the first times that metasurface optics ... have been used to improve scientific instrumentation of any kind outside of a lab proof-of-concept.” https://bit.ly/4oBjzyE @ucsandiego.bsky.social💡⚛️ 🧪

Image of the Week: Shiny, Tiny Eyes Macro photography reveals complex textures and patterns within the iris, which can look similar to a “galaxy” or an alien landscape. Sai Krishna, civil engineer, Hyderabad, India Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

The US Department of Commerce announced US$2 billion in federal incentives for 9 #quantum #technology companies under the CHIPS and Science Act. The commitment represents one of the largest federal investments in quantum computing hardware to date. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/49Xw6X5 💡 ⚛️

In OPN's latest Career Focus column "Earning Trust as Part of a Team" 2016 Optica President Alan Willner discusses the importance of being a team player in an organization and aligning your goals with those of your team. Read the story: https://bit.ly/4v0m1RI 💡 ⚛️ #edusky #academicsky

In new work, researchers demonstrated an optical chip that delivers femtosecond pulses of laser light with energies above a nanojoule. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4okl2sO 💡 ⚛️

Researchers devised a way to make a by-product of paper, lignin, into useful materials (like vanillin and a biodegradable plastic alternative) with just light and ambient conditions. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/43vxAnN @ua.es @upv.es 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Corning and Amazon announced a multibillion-dollar agreement. Corning will supply optical fiber, cable and connectivity solutions needed for Amazon Web Services. The investment will also enable Corning to create 1,000 new advanced manufacturing jobs. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4vjb7Xv 💡 ⚛️

Congratulations 🎉 to the winners of the 2026 Optica awards and medals! Find the full list of recipients in the OPN June issue: https://bit.ly/4ullMzi #honors #awards 💡 ⚛️

Image of the Week: Creating Art with Fruit Black stripes printed on a sheet of paper reflected from the surface of diluted milk with a few berries. Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

Researchers from the University of Rochester created solar-thermal panels that can remove salt and valuable minerals from ocean water, leaving fresh water but also difficult to mine minerals like lithium. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4uUmuoz 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

"Several teams are moving beyond laboratory-scale experiments toward real-world demonstrations.” OPN spoke with Ronald Hanson ahead of his keynote at Quantum 2.0 about the technical hurdles, photonic advances and opportunities shaping the future of #quantum networking. https://bit.ly/438C4R1 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Researchers showed electrically tunable second-harmonic generation in a device that is tens of times smaller than preexisting ones. “The most direct applications are nanoscale light sources, reconfigurable optical modulators and detectors for integrated photonic circuits,” https://bit.ly/3Q7GK6G💡⚛️

Image of the Week: Stem Autofluorescence Autofluorescence image of an avocado (Persea americana) stem cross-section. [2025 #OPNPhotoContest ] Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

Curious of how photonics fits into interstellar travel? In OPN's June feature article "New Optics for Interstellar Flight" freelance writer Edwin Cartlidge discusses the challenges of light sail technology and how some researchers still think it could work. https://bit.ly/4wWQwtf 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

✨Be included in OPN's "Optics in 2026" issue✨ Have you conducted notable peer-reviewed research in the optics and photonics field? Send us a brief summary to be featured in the year-end special! More information via the link: https://bit.ly/4wWLD3h 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Arkeus raises US$18 Million. The company will use the funds to expand its global reach and scale its hyperspectral optical radar technology, which simultaneously captures multiple layers of visual data, allowing a platform equipped with AI to “see." Read the story: https://bit.ly/4vfaI7E 💡 ⚛️

The dark craters on the #moon could provide an ideal location to build ultrastable lasers for supporting critical infrastructure for future lunar landings. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/3RAiHOn 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Researchers combined a dozen different types of optical #microscope into one nifty device. The new creation could cut costs in modern #microscopy laboratories once the team develops machine learning that can analyze the terabytes of output data. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4dyuZPM 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

#Quantum technology, like #QKD, is increasingly being integrated with and used alongside classical data in existing fiber infrastructure. In OPN's June cover feature, Prem Kumar and Jordan Thomas explore the history and future of "quantum-classical coexistence.” bit.ly/4fs3KrF 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Image of the Week: Metal Complex Beauty Orthoscopic image of random growth of copper(II) phenanthroline-based complex crystals on a glass slide. 2025 #OPNPhotoContest Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

New technology shows that plant photosynthetic machinery can be transplanted into mammalian tissue as a potential treatment for dry eye disease. "We, too, can have limited photosynthetic abilities," says author Xing Kuoran. #eye #photosynthesis 💡 ⚛️ 🧪 Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4dmiEy6

“PrecisionView represents a future direction for medical imaging, one where artificial intelligence and optical design work together to improve outcomes,” said Rebecca Richards-Kortum. 💡 ⚛️ 🧪 #microscopy #physics Read the OPN news story: https://bit.ly/3RSSYR9

OPN's June issue is now live! 🥳 The issue includes features about building quantum networks on classical fiber infrastructure, optics for interstellar flight, the 2026 Optica Awards and Medals and much more! Check it out online 👉 https://bit.ly/4tIRm9S #lasers #quantum #space #physics 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

"Don’t be afraid to admit failure. I don’t feel like the two years I spent in Hamburg, during my Ph.D. that I ended up leaving, were a waste of life. It was just a part of the process." Check out OPN's latest Journeys in Optics with Václav Hanus: https://bit.ly/3PjdD03 #academicsky #edusky💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Image of the Week: Rainbow Lightsail This photograph captures the world’s highest-aspect-ratio nanophotonic element: a nanometer-thick, centimeter-scale photonic crystal “lightsail” suspended on a silicon wafer. [2025 #OPNPhotoContest] Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

Startup eyeo has raised €40 million in series A financing. The company will use the funds to advance development of its nanophotonic color-splitting technology. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4wsL3dr 💡 ⚛️

What makes a sun dog? Three of physics luminaries failed to explain this solar phenomenon, highlighting the difficulty of scientific progress. Read the latest OPN Light Touch for more: https://bit.ly/49qRxzo 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Researchers have harnessed the bioluminescent response of glowing algae by encapsulating it in a printed hydrogel and using simple chemical solutions to stimulate and sustain the light. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4dojRnj @colorado.edu 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

“Our biggest hope is that by including the magnetic fields and Weibel processes in inertial fusion design simulations,” Kirill Lezhnin says, “we can do a better job in designing implosions.” Read the OPN news story: https://bit.ly/42qLUNX 💡 ⚛️

What does the "AI economy" mean for the optics and photonics industry? Optica's senior science advisor Tom Hausken explores the potential ups and downs AI may have on the economy in the latest OPN Market Report "Hanging onto the AI Juggernaut" https://bit.ly/4fgpkPu #AI💡 ⚛️

Image of the Week: Caustic and Shadow Artwork Grazing sunlight illuminating a glass of water generates an artwork of caustics and shadows. Andrea Aiello, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Erlangen Germany Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

After restorations, a Zeiss refractor from 1923 continues to delight visitors at the Belgrade Public Observatory. Read the OPN May feature "Restoring a Century-Old Zeiss Refractor" article to see how they got it up and running: https://bit.ly/42wvBPB 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

“People have found applications [for optical frequency combs] beyond the original fields—none of which were foreseen.” OPN spoke with Nathalie Picque ahead of her #CLEO plenary talk about recent developments in optical frequency comb research. https://bit.ly/4cXT2Gg 💡 ⚛️

A new, flexible microlaser can measure tiny forces within a living cell. “The applications we see are related to force measurements in clinically relevant cell models, primarily in stem cell‒derived heart organoids,” Marcel Schubert, @unicologne.bsky.social https://bit.ly/4dqQXUJ 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Image of the Week: Droplet Optics A raindrop resting on a leaf forms a near-perfect sphere, transforming it into both a spherical mirror and a spherical lens. [2025 #OPNPhotoContest ] Read more here: http://bit.ly/3Uj2QCf

Private equity firm Artemis acquired optical engineering, manufacturing, and metrology firm Optikos Corp. Optikos’ says the deal will strengthen its technical capabilities while accelerating its expansion into complex, fast-evolving markets. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4ng5UMU 💡 ⚛️

Ever wonder how innovative optics-based biomedical research makes it from the lab to the doctor's office? Check out the OPN May feature article "Biomedical Optics: Bringing Bright Ideas into Clinical Use" to get a closer look: https://bit.ly/4cXJhrC 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

A long time ago...in a galaxy far, far away...Optica was founded. Since then, optics has proven that many technologies used in #science fiction are possible. Tractor beams? ✅ #Lasers? ✅ Fusion energy? ✅ The search for other planets? ✅ Learn more: https://bit.ly/4cYtAAx ⚛️ 💡 #MayTheFourth

Global electronics manufacturer, Molex, announced that it will acquire Teramount Ltd., bringing Teramount's detachable fiber connectivity product in house. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/495fPyK 💡 ⚛️

"Eight years after the birth of their first child, mothers were 29% less likely to be working at a university than they would have been had they remained childless. For fathers, the decline was smaller, at 14%." New work points to a pronounced "parenthood penalty." https://bit.ly/49onRCW

Check out OPN's May Infographic "Measuring Time" to learn about how the SI second has been defined through time. https://bit.ly/4n3V6kx #atomicclock #time #physics

Researchers from @tuwien.at have developed an infrared sensor that can analyze ultrafine particles from the atmosphere in real-time. Spinoff company Invisible-Light Labs is now offering a commercial version of the sensor. Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/4cIlGwd 💡 ⚛️ 🧪

Researchers have developed a new technique that can multiply the intensity of a laser, potentially reaching levels that can "break the vacuum" Read the OPN story: https://bit.ly/3PbvuWz 💡 ⚛️