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Biological Lasers
MancunianMaskMan writes "Sharks in the seas all around the world are interested in this story,
though the less scientifically-minded will read the summary on the beeb web site about laser light produced by a living cell. The technique starts by engineering a cell that can produce a light-emitting protein that was first obtained from glowing jellyfish."
The laser/shark meme is really boring and pathetic. Can't people move on?
How many sharks with frikkin laser jokes will we get on this story?
I think it has jumped the shark
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Greg Egan did this in Bubble Fever. People pass information between each other by shaking hands; infrared emitting cells in the palms of the hand transmit the information. You can also control your TV by waving your hand at it.
I suppose one implementation of a bio-laser would to engineer an eye, or multiple eyes surrounding the entire organism. It would provide exceedingly good vision, but would also work in reverse. Rather take in light, they could emit a beam of light with the lens focusing it on its target. It's ok of the the lens gets damaged in the process. It was only designed to fire once, and you have multiple eyes that provide protection as the other one heals. Much like quills on a porcupine.
Life is not for the lazy.
Sounds like there may be a day when you will be able to get your cell phone display tattooed on your hand. Not clear
how they would incorporate the speaker, mic and camera... In addition, laser beam eyes would be cool at night.
The information wants to be free, I just give it somewhere to go.
"the less scientifically-minded will read the summary on the beeb website..."
Slashdot viewers are more than capable of understanding the paper, but that doesn't mean we want to pay for something we're most likely not going to implement in our basements when we get a spare chance.
Bond villains rejoice!
Bond Villains?!? I was thinking X-MEN! Biologically produced laser light, cells, eyes, ..... follow?
Laser blaster from the eyes like ...Cyclops - IIRC.
How clever, mutants with built in lazer beams – they're copying video games right?
The purpose of existence is to make money.
But uh...exactly what determines when something is a laser and not just normal bioluminescence? Especially at low intensities.
Given the recent finding over in Australia that sharks like AC/DC, I get the feeling that sharks just like to rock.
Cyclops' eyes shoot crimson rays of kinetic force. I believe you're thinking of Kryptonians.
that science is evil?
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Cyclops' eyes shoot crimson rays of kinetic force. I believe you're thinking of Kryptonians.
Red Rays of 1/2mv^2 ?
Ah, comic book physics!
From what I can gather of TFA, the cell isn't really a laser per se, as much as it is a cell that, genetically engineered to express GFP, can survive and be observed while be used as part of the lasing medium in a GFP-based organic dye laser(which is stimulated by blue light from outside the tube in which the cell(s) and the GFP dye fluid are placed).
That is pretty cool, and I suspect that there will be some very elegant live-cell imaging that comes out of applications of this technique; but it leaves me wondering how small a complete biological laser could be: ie. something that both expresses the proteins needed to make up the lasing medium and uses some flavor of bioluminescence to pump its own lasing medium...
Really? Does anybody know what a L.A.S.E.R. is or is the modern scientist just a Wii wanker?
... I welcome our meme-bound overlords.
Have gnu, will travel.
So, towards engineering a shark with lasers, it seems that one needs:
(a) this "GFP" protein as a gain medium,
(b) mirrors,
(c) this "blue light" to bathe it in, and
(d) some sort of lens(?)
what is interesting, it is that all of the above components can easily be made by nature. GFP is already there, the "blue light" could come from a similar process, lenses are in eyes so I would guess (b) could be the hardest one to come up with, but there are numerous animals with a silver-ish tint (reflective surface) plus several wasp species that have so much metal in their stings (deposited there trace by trace from their diet) that they can easily drill into seeds. Point being that reflective (i.e. metal) components can be intermingled and arrayed into living tissue.
I keep wondering as to what could be the chances of such a "laser organ" evolving naturally? Can the fact that it hasn't be seen as a hint that evolution does not have a plan, and is merely a sum of random events? And let's speculate even further- what use could such an organ have?
The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
I, for one, welcome our new Zerg Overlords.
...to the Paragon of Epicosity: http://www.wowwiki.com/Epicus_Maximus
Take that, all you naysayers who says there's no way someone can shoot lasers out of his eyes!
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
The magnitude is usually off, but it usually pushes back on Cyclops to some degree. At least there's that.
http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/46248
More like a biological lasing medium. They still needed to use mirrors to create the cavity. When they figure out how to create biological mirrors too, then it will be interesting.
And girls still won't see what's in your pants!
The one nanowatt output is kinda symbolic, don't you think?
You need to get out of yo mama's basement!
wake up and hold your nose
LASER CATS!!!!!!
So you have none?
I'm pinned-down by withering shark-fire.
Any chance this could be weaponized, as with the Bugs in Starship Troopers?
Evolution isn't merely a sum of random events - it's a sum of random improvements.
So they used artificial mirrors, but since the gain mechanism is living, they call it a biological laser?
Call me when they make biological mirrors, then we'll talk.
No, it's a sum of random events + culling.
No, it can't. Darwinian evolution is seen as a sum of random events (AND selection, you omitted that), but scientifically speaking, nothing can be derived from the fact that some arbitrary thing doesn't exist. There can be about three reasons (and many more) for a laser organ not to have evolved:
a) It exits, but we haven't found it yet.
b) Evolution has not (yet) come up with it--but maybe later.
c) God has made no plan of creating said laser organ. (Yet. Beware of the sharks.)
There is absolutely no conclusion we can draw from its non-existence. This is true for evolution biologists as well as creationists.
Just wondering when Andy Samberg will be collecting his Nobel prize...
Thanks, http://exercisesto-reducetummy.com/articles/abb-workouts/
You could grow bar code, QR code, on a human as a way to make a humane 'invisible' tattoo that only lit up under certain conditions. Or... you know... make his whole body glow so that after he gets out neighborhood moms could identify potential threats to their kids. So many ways to abuse technology... :)