Laser

A new advancement in laser therapy has recently received the green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and may become the latest tool in removing unwanted fat cells. Osyris Medical has created the LipoControl system for laser-assisted lipolysis – the breakdown of body fats. However, unlike Coolsculpting, LipoControl does not bypass the need for invasive surgery. The system has been specifically designed for use in the operating room, along with laser lipolysis procedures. Unlike common liposuction units, this device is used to accurately zap unwanted fat cells using a laser, which then allows for an easier and cleaner suction out. Read More

An international team of scientists has obtained the world’s first single-shot images of intact viruses – a technology that could ultimately lead to moving video of molecules, viruses and live microbes. The team was also able to successfully utilize a new shortcut for determining the 3D structures of proteins. Both advances were achieved using the world’s first hard X-ray free-electron laser – the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) – which scientists hope could revolutionize the study of life. Read More

Laser welding of plastic is quick, precise, and generates little waste, but it does have its limitations. The process involves shining a laser beam through the edge of an upper sheet of plastic and onto the joining edge of a lower sheet, which has had soot particles mixed into it to absorb the radiation – this means that manufacturers are almost always limited to joining transparent plastic to black plastic. Researchers from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, however, have recently developed a method for welding transparent plastics to one another. Read More

Princeton University engineers have developed a new laser sensing technology that is expected to enable the remote distant detection of explosives, airborne pollutants and greenhouse gasses. The technique differs from previous remote laser-sensing methods in that the returning beam is not just a reflection or scattering of the outgoing beam but an entirely new laser beam generated by oxygen atoms whose electrons have been "excited" to high energy levels. This "air laser" is a much more powerful tool than previously existed for remote measurements of trace amounts of chemicals in the air. Read More

Despite the commonly held view – among schoolboys anyway – of pirates as a bunch of peg-legged, eye-patch wearing scurvy dogs from the 1700’s (or thereabouts), maritime piracy continues to be a serious problem – and it’s on the rise. To combat this scourge of the seas BAE Systems has developed a non-lethal laser designed to act as a deterrent against pirate attacks on commercial vessels, such as oil tankers and container ships. Read More

If you want to obtain moving images of high-speed molecular processes at an atomic scale, one of the best facilities in the world is the X-ray Free Electron Laser (X-FEL) at Stanford University. Should you wish to use it, however, you’ll have get on a waiting list, then bring your materials to its California home once it’s your turn. If you’re thinking of building your own, you’d better start saving now – Stanford’s laser reportedly cost several hundred million dollars to build, and the cost of a new European X-FEL has been set at one billion euro (US$1.3 billion). Researchers from the Netherlands’ Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), however, have recently announced the development of a tabletop “poor man’s X-FEL.” It performs some of the same key functions as the big laser, but costs under half a million euro (US$656,006). Read More

Zhantra Entertainment has recently merged dance and technology to create a captivating spectacle. Resembling characters from sci-fi films such as Blade Runner and Minority Report, dancer Milena looks like she has stepped straight out of a cyberpunk future world. Dressed in an outfit custom-designed by Zhantra’s in-house designer, Gustavo, featuring LED lights, 17 individual lasers, and ballerina point shoes, the Bionic Ballerina displays moves that seem to defy the laws of human flexibility. Read More

Not many things are tougher than dealing with a diagnosis of cancer. But often the protracted wait for biopsy results, and the uncertainty surrounding them, can be excruciating for patients and their loved ones. Now a research team at the University of Illinois has developed a tissue-imaging technique that produces easily identifiable, color-coded images of body tissue that clearly outline tumor boundaries. What’s more, the process takes less than five minutes. Read More

Researchers from Germany’s Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) and the Swiss Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) have created a microresonator that produces vibrations from laser light. The device also uses one laser beam to control the intensity of another, thus making it essentially an optical transistor. The technology could have big implications in fields such as telecommunications. Read More