Hi Reddit! I am Tom Kaye, Associate Researcher with the Burke Museum in Seattle, Washington. My research uses lasers to make fossils and minerals fluoresce in ways never seen before. My team recently published a paper in PLOS ONE titled “Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence in Paleontology” where in one example we used our system to identify the origin of a bracelet that was placed around the arm of a 6,000 year old skeleton of a girl. We also demonstrated the use of laser fluorescence to automatically sort microfossils, its ability to “back light” feathers preserved as carbon films and light up micro-fossils that were normally invisible under the surface. We are also taking the laser underground and using it to fluoresce and photograph cave formations at great distances! I hope to answer lots of interesting questions at the PLOS AMA at 1pm ET (10 am PT, 5 pm UTC), and you can follow my science adventures on Facebook. See you all soon!