Zapping Individual Cancer Cells

A new laser microscalpel used in surgery can target single cells. By Lissa Harris Laser killer: Adela Ben-Yakar (top), inventor of a new high-resolution laser microprobe, at work in her laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. An image taken with the microprobe shows a breast-cancer cell embedded in collagen, before (middle) and after (bottom) it is destroyed by the probe. Credit: University of Texas Engineering Public Affairs (top); Adela Ben-Yakar Group (middle and bottom) Engineers at the University of Texas at Austin have patented a laser microscalpel that allows a surgeon to operate on tissue one cell at a time, precisely targeting disease while leaving healthy surrounding cells alive. The device combines two technologies--a femtosecond laser and two-photon fluorescence microscopy--into a single miniaturized,... [read full story]