Scientists Create a 'Tractor Beam' - Science & Innovation - NewsFactor Network: "Scientists are using a beam of light, similar to 'Star Trek's' tractor beams, to trap protein molecules and make them dance in space.

The technique -- developed by scientists from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the California Institute of Technology, and a company called Protein Discovery -- is said to be useful for separating, concentrating, and analyzing proteins quickly, with high sensitivity and selectivity.

'With this technique, we can steer DNA or other biomolecules for transport in three dimensions and also separate them according to size and their isoelectric point,' said Chuck Witkowski, a co-author and president of Protein Discovery, a Knoxville startup company. "