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Watching things disappear "is an amazing experience," admits Joachim Fischer of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. But making items vanish is not the reason he creates invisibility cloaks. Rather, the magic-like tricks are attractive demonstrations of the fantastic capabilities that new optical theories and nanotechnology construction methods now enable.

Researchers at Northwestern University have created a new kind of cloaking material that can render objects invisible in the terahertz range.

Invisibility appears to be the next possible advance in the use of Terahertz radiation in medicine, security, and communications.

University of Utah scientists used invisible infrared light to make rat heart cells contract and toadfish inner-ear cells send signals to the brain. The discovery someday might improve cochlear implants for deafness and lead to devices to restore vision, maintain balance and treat movement disorders like Parkinson's

Though the Arctic is often pictured as a vast white wasteland, scientists believe a thin layer of soot - mostly invisible - is causing it to absorb more heat. They want to find out if that's the main reason for the recent rapid warming of the Arctic, which could have a long-term impact on the world's climate.