Scottish researchers have devised a way to use lasers to spin even the most delicate microscopic objects without damaging them. This system may give researchers an unprecedented amount of control for manipulating objects in living cells or components of micromachines.

“Our technique could be used to drive motors, mixers, centrifuges, and other rotating parts in cheap, tiny, automated technologies of the future,” said Science author Kishan Dholakia of St. Andrews University. Such components might someday appear on “labs-on-chips,” which could perform chemical and biological tests at high speed.