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. 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.

[Via Wired]