These brief, blinding flashes of high energy radiation apparently originate from the farthest corners of the Universe, but the mechanism that produces them is currently beyond our comprehension. (newscientist.com)
Thanks to its closeness to Proxima Centauri, the planet also receives 100 times as much high energy radiation as Earth, in the form of ultraviolet light and x-rays. (sciencemag.org)
They can also be used for biological labeling because of their low toxicity, chemical stability, and intense luminescence when excited by near - IR radiation, which can penetrate tissue much better than higher energy radiation such as ultraviolet, as is often required with quantum dot labels. (sciencedaily.com)