Droll Things

If once again Bill Gates decides to unleash a swarm of mosquitoes at this year’s TED conference, former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold will be ready for him. Designed from parts obtained on eBay by scientists at Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures Laboratory, this Death Star-like laser gun can track and destroy mosquitoes in mid-flight. This laser gun was designed by Nathan Myhrvold. Myhrvold’s team demonstrated the system onstage using a green laser light rather than a real laser for safety reasons. They let loose mosquitoes in a glass box rigged with a camera on one side of the stage, then pointed the laser device at the box. The laser lights quickly located the mosquitoes in flight. The main goal of the project is to eventually come up with a solution to control the insect’s population in regions where malaria is present.

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