Cool laser trick

Do you have pond water and a green laser pointer? If so you should replicate this guy's awesome setup. All he did was hang a drop, and shine a laser at it, and voila! It reminds me of those planetarium shows I saw as a kid, but with bacteria.

Early Cancer Detection: Dogs with frickin' laser beams

You may recall from several years ago, reports of dogs who could sniff out cancer. Based on odour, trained dogs could distinguish urine from bladder cancer patients from controls at a better-than-chance rate (mean success rate of 41% vs. 14% expected by chance alone in this study).

Since then, more canine cancer detection experiments have been done. In 2006, this double-blind study showed that ordinary household dogs could be trained to identify breast- and lung-cancer patients with incredible accuracy (88% and 99% respectively) and specificity (98% and 99% respectively) compared to conventional diagnosis and biopsy confirmation, based on breath scent. The dogs were able to 'diagnose' both early- and late-stage cancers.

Fast forward to 2008. While a Korean company is cloning cancer-sniffing dogs, a group at the University of Oklahoma - intrigued by the dogs, and having already published proof of concept to identify volatile compounds in breath - announced a project to develop a tool for laser-based detection of cancer biomarkers. The goal is to eventually develop an 'electronic nose' for rapid, accurate, non-invasive cancer diagnosis.

According to McCann, “Improved methods to detect molecules have been demonstrated, and more people need to be using these methods to detect molecules given off from cancer. We have developed laser-based methods to detect molecules. Mid-infrared lasers can measure suspected cancer biomarkers—ethane, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde.” McCann will use nanotechnology to improve laser performance and shrink laser systems, which would allow battery-powered operation of a handheld sensor device.

Because of the importance of early detection, this device - if sensitive enough to detect early-stage cancers with a simple breath test - could have major implications for survival rates. Unfortunately right now it's just a press release and, as pointed out in the release, an actual product is 5-10 years away, but in the meantime more biomarkers can be investigated and more cancers can be screened as candidates for laser-based diagnosis. As McCann states, "the science supports it, and the dogs tell us there is something there."

License the Technology Before You Play With Your Cat, Travel at Lightspeed

That's right. If you've ever teased your cat with a laser pointer or traveled across galaxies for money, you may just get sued.

Govern yourself accordingly.

Method of exercising a cat

US Patent Issued on August 22, 1995
No. 144473 filed on 1993-11-02

Abstract

A method for inducing cats to exercise consists of directing a beam of invisible light produced by a hand-held laser apparatus onto the floor or wall or other opaque surface in the vicinity of the cat, then moving the laser so as to cause the bright pattern of light to move in an irregular way fascinating to cats, and to any other animal with a chase instinct.

Of course that's not nearly as ridiculous as the anti-gravity spaceship patent:

United States Patent	6,960,975
Volfson	November 1, 2005

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Space vehicle propelled by the pressure of inflationary vacuum state

Abstract

A space vehicle propelled by the pressure of inflationary vacuum state is provided comprising a hollow superconductive shield, an inner shield, a power source, a support structure, upper and lower means for generating an electromagnetic field, and a flux modulation controller. A cooled hollow superconductive shield is energized by an electromagnetic field resulting in the quantized vortices of lattice ions projecting a gravitomagnetic field that forms a spacetime curvature anomaly outside the space vehicle. The spacetime curvature imbalance, the spacetime curvature being the same as gravity, provides for the space vehicle's propulsion. The space vehicle, surrounded by the spacetime anomaly, may move at a speed approaching the light-speed characteristic for the modified locale.

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Inventors:	Volfson; Boris (Huntington, IN)
Appl. No.:	11/079,670
Filed:	March 14, 2005