Number 174 (Story #1), April 15, 1994 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein LASER ACTION IN A DISORDERED MATERIAL has been observed by Nabil Lawandy at Brown University (N.M. Lawandy et al., Nature, 31 March 1991). He sent green laser light (at a wavelength of 532 nm) into a cell filled with a dye solution, producing orange light (617 nm). Lawandy discovered that when he added titanium-dioxide nanocrystals (commonly used in white paint) to the dye, the laser light emission from the cell was greatly amplified, even though the cell was not a proper resonator (having no mirrors), and even though the presence of scattering particles (in this case about 250 nm in size) usually only degrades the laser output. Admittedly, the amplified light no longer travels onward as a collimated beam, but its brightness and narrow energy range may still be handy in a number of applications. Lawandy hopes, for example, that a variety of creams, each containing specialized suspensions tailored to produce light at specific wavelengths, could be used by dermatologists for treating skin problems. Laser-excited paint pixels might make possible a new form of flat-panel displays. (The Economist, 9 April; Science News, 9 April.)