Meet the latest mutant that failed to make the X-Men: First Class cut – the Living Laser! Just kidding, but scientists have managed to merge light-emitting proteins from jellyfish with a single human cell, hence creating the first biological laser of sorts, at least according to a report that was published in the journal Nature Photonics. This is touted to be the first time such a thing has happened, as the presence of two elements were there – a material known as a “gain medium” that amplifies light, in addition to an arrangement of mirrors that will concentrate light waves into a beam. To date, gain mediums have more or less been crystals, semiconductors or gases. The brains behind this achievement relied on green fluorescent protein (GFP) instead, the very same substance that allows jellyfish to be bioluminescent.
The laser beam is not going to zap enemy airplanes down from the sky, being tiny and weak at the moment in comparison to traditional lasers, so the day where genetically modified humans who are able to be a “Cyclops” is still a page far, far down in the future – with no guarantees that even that is possible.
What are the other uses of a living laser that you can think of?
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