Think a Gamma Knife sounds cool? How about a Photonic Needle

Researchers at St. Andrews University in Scotland have created a new technique for delivering drugs to individual cells which is essentially an incredibly precise laser fired from a fiber the width of a human hair. Despite this rather inflammatory article at the Daily Mail saying it will be used to cure cancer, the real applications are very specific and very practical — as is often the case with impressive-sounding medical technologies like MRI.

The ability to puncture a cell wall with ease and precision with an extremely non-invasive tool like a fiber (paired with another for drug delivery) is a coup for scientists testing at the cellular level. The new technology requires no focusing and is actually very much like a microscopic light saber when I think about it. Paging Dr. Vader…