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Although large research facilities are sometimes criticized for the colossal amounts of funding they consume, the lessons that are learnt from the 'extreme' science that they perform benefit labs of all sizes.
The regeneration of weak and distorted optical signals is vital in long-haul optical communication systems. Now scientists at Cornell University have developed an all-optical scheme that performs the task and is small enough to fit on a chip.
A re-examination of firefly bioluminescence has revealed that the efficiency of light generation in fireflies is actually less than half the widely accepted value. The study also casts doubts over the mechanism that determines the colour of the emission.
Many of the advances in fibre-laser technology are thanks to work by Andreas Tünnermann, now head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering in Jena, Germany. Nadya Anscombe spoke to him about developments in the area and his views on its future.
The ability of living organisms to generate light by bioluminescence is a fascinating phenomenon. Nature Photonics spoke to Yoriko Ando from the University of Tokyo about her recent quantitative analysis of the effect in fireflies.
A wide variety of photodetectors are available to suit applications spanning from telecommunications to single-photon counting. Neil Savage takes a look at some of the recent offerings.