But there's a problem: skin doesn't reflect the beams properly, which means people can't be accurately scanned unless they also happen to be ringwraiths.

ENGADGET: Laser scans objects in 3D from half a mile away, scientists just need reason to use it

We hear so much about the dangers of skin cancer, or the more mundane problem of wrinkles and skin deterioration, that it almost seems hard to believe anybody would have a real nut-brown year-round tan, says Mary Killen, who writes the Spectator's Dear Mary column.

BBC: Can a fake tan ever be classy?

The woman is undergoing a strict regimen of immunosuppression therapy so her body does not reject the donor skin, a problem that has been encountered in other skin transplants, the doctors said.

CNN: Face transplant woman thanks team