Diary of a Disordered Mind

Scientists have shown off an effect not unlike that of the "phasers" in the show Star Trek - but it only works on tiny worms called nematodes.

The above is the abstract paragraph of a BBC News article referring to a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society entitled A Photocontrolled Molecular Switch Regulates Paralysis in a Living Organism. The living organism in question is a worm (shown in the picture above) called C. elegans.

Essentially what they did was introduce a chemical into the worms which changes shape and structure in response to different wave-lengths of light. When exposed to UV, the worms turn a light blue colour (as shown in the upper-most portion of the image above) and paralyses the worm. What's more, when the worm is then exposed to visible light, the chemical switches back to it's original form and the worm returns to normal.

Neat, huh!

This has led to the inevitable comparison with phasers seen in Star Trek and the like. But, I'll be honest, I've never seen a Sci-Fi character force-fed chemicals before being stunned and they never turned blue, did they? Have I missed something?!