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Title: Laser is produced by a living cell
Source:
BBC News
URL Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13725719
Published: Jun 13, 2011
Author: Jason Palmer
Post Date: 2011-06-13 07:03:46 by Tatarewicz
Keywords: None
Views: 145
Comments: 3
A single living cell has been coaxed into producing laser light, researchers report in Nature Photonics. The technique starts by engineering a cell that can produce a light-emitting protein that was first obtained from glowing jellyfish. Flooding the resulting cells with weak blue light causes them to emit directed, green laser light. The work may have applications in improved microscope imaging and light-based therapies. Laser light differs from normal light in that it is of a narrow band of colours, with the light waves all oscillating together in synchrony. Most modern forms use carefully engineered solid materials to produce lasers in everything from supermarket scanners to DVD players to industrial robots. The new work, by Malte Gather and Seok Hyun Yun at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in the US, marks the first time the phenomenon has been seen in a living system. The pair used green fluorescent protein (GFP) as the laser's "gain medium", where light amplification takes place. GFP is a well-studied molecule, first isolated from jellyfish, that has revolutionised biology by acting as a custom-made "torch" that can light up living systems on command. In the new work, cells derived from human kidney cells were genetically engineered to produce GFP. Bathed in light The cells were then placed one at a time between two tiny mirrors, just 20 millionths of a metre across, which acted as the "laser cavity" in which light could bounce many times through the cell. Upon bathing the cell with blue light, it could be seen to emit directed and intense green laser light. The cells remained alive throughout and after the process. The authors note in an accompanying interview in the journal that the living system is a "self-healing" laser; if the light-emitting proteins are destroyed in the process, the cell will simply produce more. "In cellular sensing, we may be able to detect intracellular processes with unprecedented sensitivity," they said. "For light-based therapeutics, diagnosis and imaging, people think about how to deliver emission from an external laser source deep into tissue. Now we can approach this problem in another way: by amplifying light in the tissue (itself)."
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#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
“I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend” - J.R.R. Tolkien
This is a major milestone towards engineering a biotic microprocessor. The robot in Terminator would be like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz when compared to a true biotic robot.
CYCLOPS EXISTS!
#2. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
"The real deal is this: the ‘royalty’ controlling the court, the ones with the power, the ones with the ability to make a difference, with the ability to change our course, the ones who will live in infamy if we pass the tipping points, are the captains of industry, CEOs in fossil fuel companies such as EXXON/Mobil, automobile manufacturers, utilities, all of the leaders who have placed short-term profit above the fate of the planet and the well-being of our children." - James Hansen
#3. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
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