Scientists set lasers on cells, end up playing Pong
By Donald Melanson 
posted Sep 17th 2009 7:42PM
posted Sep 17th 2009 7:42PM
Researchers have devised plenty of innovative ways of viewing living cells, but their options are a bit more limited when it comes to actually manipulating cells without, you know, destroying them. Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles have now come up with one promising new possibility, however, using lasers instead of the fixed electrodes more commonly used today. Those, as you might expect, don't hit the cells directly, but are rather used to shine light on a "high-tech Petri dish," which has a grid of light detectors built into its floor and sets of transparent electrodes on the top and bottom. When lit up in a pattern of a circle or square, the cells can then be isolated and moved about at will or, conceivably, even be used for a game of Pong. Check out the video after the break to see for yourself.
Call me when you can play Crysis with them.
A petri dish with some cells in it is closer to playing Crysis than a Mac.
Because the Crysis meme totally didn't die an age ago! Get some fresh material. (Preparing to turn invisible from the people who think that's still hilarious.)
I think that's proof that we still find crysis jokes funny!
crysis jokes won't die until it runs like far cry (which will run in any graphics card even intels EXTREEEEME Graphics adapters These days) but until that day we'll keep pushing the will it run crysis? question for everything from washing machines to phones
Even cells have "lazors" now.
Nothin new here people, lots of labs are doing this all over the world!
A FRIKKIN CELLULAZER BEAM!
Talk about "Organic" LED TVs!!
Superpowers, please!
That's actually pretty cool and a good idea.
Seriously, this is the only serious comment on something this big.
I am only wondering, are cells still able to replicate. It says that nothing of the cell is damaged, but if the cells can't replicate it's still not very usefull in it's current state. If cells can actually still replicate after this stem cells for example could be isolated so much better.
pew pew pew
Plasma pong...
More like plasmid pong.
(I love that game, btw)
IMMA CHARGIN MAH CELLZOR!
We have cells with lasers, now where are my sharks?
Wait, they didn't play Conway's Game of Life with them? Weaksauce.
Funny how often it's chinese/japanese/korean or middle eastern people who do the breakthroughs in US universities, I guess the old WASP geniuses are busy protesting healthcare.
Pretty clever, but I was disappointed that the video had no Pong.
Comma overload.
What, pray tell, do you, the reader, mean?
Commas, in and of themselves are simple pauses, you can add them for spoken effect; mind you the semicolon is like, the god of punctuation, I mean, the potential of a never ending sentence, segwaying itself across, topic to topic is outstanding; never let a full stop get in the way, oh no, not ever, who would break when u can flow on and on; then add in a few bullet points and even sentences, yes, sentences themselves can go away, away, haha, yes, away....
Whats this? All that time playing jezzball wasn't wasted!?
No, but you may be able to play pong with it!
PETA will soon put a stop to this.