Using Human Cells and Jellyfish Protein, Researchers Build the First Living Laser
A bright future for internal medicine Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital built a living laser partly to study interactions between electronic and biological systems, and partly out of sheer curiosity. The world's first biological laser, made from a single living cell, could lead to better microscope imaging inside the body and even targeted light therapies, researchers say. A single human cell engineered to express green fluorescent protein can be used to amplify photons into super-short pulses of laser light, the researchers say. Related ArticlesHarvard Scientists Control and Steer Live Worms Using Laser Light Using Lasers to Steam-Clean Buildings After a Radioactive or Chemical AttackIn Quantum Computing Leap, Tiny Lasers Target Individual AtomsTagsScience, Rebecca Boyle, cells, color lasers, electroluminescent, GFP, green fluorescent protein, human cells, kidneys, lasers, photonicsLasers consist of a gain medium, the source of optical gain within the laser which absorbs external energy and excites atoms...