A LIVING cell has been turned into a laser for the first time. The human kidney cell involved survived the experience, and though we are a long way from the laser eyes of Cyclops from the X-Men franchise, the achievement suggests that “living lasers” might be created inside live animals. This could allow internal tissues to be imaged in unprecedented detail.
Typically, a laser consists of two mirrors on either side of a gain medium – a material whose structural properties allow it to amplify light. A source of energy excites the atoms in the gain medium, releasing photons. As…
