A team of scientists from Harvard University and the Massachusetts General Hospital (USA) has just created the first living system capable of emitting laser light . It is a cell that produces a bioluminescent protein with the ability to emit light, the green fluorescent protein ( GFP , for its acronym in English), obtained from jellyfish, as an active laser medium in which the amplification of light originates . The team, led by Malte Gather and Seok Hyun Yun, used genetically modified kidney cells placed between two tiny mirrors . These mirrors act as a laser cavity in which light bounces and repeatedly travels through each cell, according to the researchers in the journal Nature Photonics . The result is a directional laser beam that is visible to the naked eye and does not damage the cell . Although the laser is relatively weak at the moment, according to Yun it is at least 10 times brighter than the normal fluorescent green of the GFP protein.
The development of a "live laser" can have several applications in medicine, since it would allow to identify cells with high precision for diagnosis, and even treat certain diseases using "laser cells". It could also help develop new microscopic techniques.
