'Invisible' fish could light the way to better optical devices

Imagine setting up mirrors in a circle around you, the shiny sides all facing outwards to reflect your surroundings. To the casual observer you would appear to be 'invisible', blending into the environment around you. Fish have developed this ability over millions of years of evolution, embodied in their shiny scales. And now, a new study---published on Monday in Nature Photonics---suggests this natural ability in small silver fish (including sardines and herrings) could be harnessed to develop next-generation optical devices including light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and optical fibres.