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WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed a new method to flexibly create a variety of needle-shaped laser beams. This long, narrow beam can be used to enhance optical coherence tomography (OCT), a non-invasive and versatile imaging tool used for scientific research and various types of clinical diagnosis. “Needle-shaped laser beams can effectively expand the depth of focus of OCT systems, improving lateral resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, contrast, and image quality over a long depth range,” said study team leader Adam de la Zerda of the Stanford University School of Medicine. . “However, before now, the application of certain needle-shaped beams was difficult due to the lack of a common and flexible generation method.” In Optica, the Optica Publishing Group’s journal for high-impact research, researchers describe their new platform for creating needle-shaped beams of different lengths and diameters. It can be used to create different types of beams suc...

4×5 inch film made of 10 layers of high performance dielectric elastomer (PHDE) which can be processed and stacked together with 20 actuators. Credit: Software Research Lab/UCLA UCLA materials scientists and colleagues at the non-profit scientific research institute SRI International have developed new materials and manufacturing processes to create artificial muscles that are stronger and more flexible than their biological counterparts. “Creating artificial muscles to allow work and detect force and touch has been one of the great challenges of science and engineering,” said Qibing Pei, professor of materials science and engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and correspondent author of a recently published study in Science . For a soft material to be considered for use as an artificial muscle, it must be capable of generating mechanical energy and still be able to withstand high strain conditions—meaning that it...