Laser tests may soon replace dentist’s dreaded drill

October 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Those small and inconvenient sticky labels in illegible print on consumer items like fruits are likely to be replaced by laser 'tattoo' technology, which is currently undergoing tests. Called laser etching, the new technology puts a tattoo on grapefruit and other produce so it can be identified at the supermarket checkout lines.

September 12th, 2009 LONDON - Soon, the Airborne Laser (ABL), built into a customized Boeing 747, is ready for flight tests, in which it will try to shoot a ballistic missile. According to a report in New Scientist, the US Department of Defense's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has developed the ABL.

September 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, scientists have determined that the technique of laser cooling could be used to create "exotic" states of matter. According to a report in National Geographic News, in a new technique, Martin Weitz and Ulrich Vogl of the University of Bonn in Germany used a laser to bring the temperature of dense rubidium gas far below the normal point at which the gas becomes a solid.

September 8th, 2009 LONDON - A British defence manufacturer has designed a laser gun that can be used to dazzle pirates, leaving them incapacitated, thus becoming the perfect weapon to fight Somali pirates. According to a report in the Telegraph, known as the 'Laser Dazzle System, the device is powerful enough to incapacitate pirates up to 1,000 yards away, while leaving them physically unscathed.

September 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States Naval Research Laboratory is working on a new technology that uses flashes of laser light to remotely create underwater sound. Researchers behind the project say that the new technology has the potential to expand and improve both Naval and commercial underwater acoustic applications, including undersea communications, navigation, and acoustic imaging.

September 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists has developed a new laser technology that has made it possible to turn light into sound. Developed by scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory, US, the technology has the potential to expand and improve both Naval and commercial underwater acoustic applications, including undersea communications, navigation and acoustic imaging.

August 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Aussie researchers are developing a tool that can use sound waves to identify early stages of tooth decay by measuring the mineral content of teeth. Tooth decay begins by acid-forming bacteria eating away at the enamel, causing minerals to leach from it, softening, and weakening the tooth.

August 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed a laser technique that, in combination with standard techniques, would help to find supernovas. To find a supernova, the new technique would have to search for one single atom of a certain isotope of hafnium on Earth, which would prove that a supernova once exploded near our solar system.

July 2nd, 2009 LONDON - Reports indicate that the Pentagon is developing a laser dazzler that will force drivers to stop without harming their eyes. When a vehicle approaches a checkpoint at speed, ignoring warning signs to slow down, troops do not know whether the driver is simply careless or a suicide bomber.

May 31st, 2009 World's strongest laser unveiled at California labLIVERMORE, Calif. — The world's most powerful laser, created to help keep tabs on the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile while also studying the heavens, has been unveiled.

May 30th, 2009 LONDON - Using lasers to make solar photovoltaic cells that produce electricity from sunshine makes these cells cheaper and better, researchers say. Arnold Gillner, microtechnology head at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology in Germany, said: "Lasers work quickly, precisely, and without contact.

May 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An ultra-powerful laser not only doubles the brightness of light bulbs filaments but also slashes their power consumption, according to a new study. "We've been experimenting with the way ultra-fast lasers change metals, and we wondered what would happen if we trained the laser on a filament," said Chunlei Guo, associate professor of optics at the University of Rochester, who led the research.

April 17th, 2009 LONDON - US researchers are designing a laser-guided microwave blaster to destroy explosives. The weapon, called the Multimode Directed Energy Armament System, could destroy the electronic fuse of an explosive device or missile, such as a roadside bomb, or immobilise a vehicle by disabling its ignition system, reports New Scientist.

April 1st, 2009 LONDON - A US based company has developed a battlefield laser weapon that can fire a strong beam, which can destroy rockets, mortars and artillery shells. "We're doing our part to make gunpowder a 20th-century technology," said Dan Wildt of Northrop Grumman, whose battlefield laser weapon passed another milestone last week.

March 12th, 2009 LONDON - British surgeons are offering to permanently treat excessive armpit perspiration with the aid of a new 60-minute laser operation. he Laser Sweat Ablation service, launched on Monday, will cost around 3,500 pounds.