Demonstration of microfiber knot laser

The authors demonstrate a 1.5 mu m wavelength microfiber laser formed by tightening a doped microfiber into a knot in air. The 2-mm-diameter knot, assembled using a 3.8-mu m-diameter microfiber that is directly drawn from Er:Yb-doped phosphate glass, serves as both active medium and resonating cavity for lasing. Single-longitudinal-mode laser with threshold of about 5 mW and output power higher than 8 mu W is obtained. Their initial results suggest a simple approach to highly compact lasers based on doped microscale optical fibers. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

A single amino acid defines cross-species reactivity of tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri) CD1d to human invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells

P>The non-classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule CD1d presents lipid antigens to invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, which are an important part of the innate immune system. CD1d/iNKT systems are highly conserved in evoluti