当激光束通过含有海洋细菌的水时,它把这些微生物拖入光束之内,从而使光束发生了聚焦。细菌存在于几乎任何湖海之中,它们散射光线,使水体深处漆黑一片。但是,如果你将一束强激光入射到水中,带有些细菌的水却比普通的水更容易透射。研究人员发现这一自聚焦效应不仅发生于海洋细菌中,也存在于其他细菌乃至血细胞中。操控这一效应可以开辟通往生物成像的新道路。 As the laser beam passes through the water containing marine bacteria, it pulls these microbes into the beam, causing the beam to focus. Bacteria are found in almost any lagoon, and they scatter light and make the water darker and darker. However, if you inject a strong laser into the water, the water with some bacteria is more easily transmitted than normal water. The researchers found that this self-focusing effect occurs not only in marine bacteria, but also in other bacteria and even blood cells. Manipulating this effect opens the way to bioimaging.