The intriguing development of materials that are effectively invisible thanks to a phenomenon called negative refraction continues apace.

This article from a Physorg has further details:

Applications for a metamaterial entail altering how light normally behaves. In the case of invisibility cloaks or shields, the material would need to curve light waves completely around the object like a river flowing around a rock. For optical microscopes to discern individual, living viruses or DNA molecules, the resolution of the microscope must be smaller than the wavelength of light

The theory behind negative refraction seems fairly complex – but it’s interesting to imagine what can be done by “altering how light normally behaves” and the possibility of viewing live viruses is also interesting.

[stories from Physorg and BBC News][image from PhoebeJ on flickr]