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Four hours later, they applied near-infrared radiation to the mice to activate the photo-oxidants to attack the cancer cells.

“Water vapor is a good absorber of the near-infrared radiation, behaves as a greenhouse gas, and warms the planet,” Kopparapu says.

Longer-wavelength near-infrared radiation can penetrate up to three centimetres — a much better depth for uses such as releasing drugs.

It could also find use in advanced biomedical imaging "because near-infrared radiation penetrates through tissue better than other wavelengths," Salguero said.