Tricks of the light: the remarkable power of laser tweezers to dissect complex biological questions

TL;DR

Laser tweezers are powerful optical tools that have revolutionized the study of complex biological systems by enabling precise manipulation and measurement at microscopic scales.

Contribution

This paper highlights the significant impact of laser tweezers in dissecting complex biological questions, emphasizing their unique capabilities and recent advancements.

Findings

Laser tweezers enable manipulation of biological molecules and cells with high precision.

They have facilitated breakthroughs in understanding biological processes at the microscopic level.

The technology continues to evolve, expanding its applications in biology.

Abstract

On 2 October 2018 Goran Hansson, Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announced that the Nobel Prize in Physics would be jointly awarded to Arthur Ashkin, Gerard Mourou and Donna Strickland, for their groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics. Strickland and Mourou shared one half of the prize for their pioneering work in generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses. The recipient of the other half was Arthur Ashkin for his seminal work leading to the development of optical tweezers, also referred to as optical traps or laser tweezers, and their applications to an enormous range of biological systems. As discussed below, laser tweezers are a remarkable class of optical force transduction tools which have had a profound effect in enabling several complex biological questions to be addressed impenetrable using other existing technologies.