This bookmark-sized microscope can be assembled in minutes, includes no mechanical moving parts, packs in a flat configuration, is extremely rugged and can be incinerated after to safely dispose of infectious biological samples. With minor optics modifications, the microscope can be designed for brightfield, multi-flourescence or projection microscopy, or specialized to identify specific pathogens. The video shows them dropped in water and stomped on with no apparent damage.
Manu Prakash, a professor at Stanford University and his students have developed a microscope out of a flat sheet of paper, a watch battery, LED, and optical units that when folded together, much like origami, creates a functional instrument with the resolution of 800 nanometers – basically magnifying an object up to 2,000 times.
While the professor talks about use in basically third-world countries, I can see these also being distributed to school children across the US – just imagine how much more interesting science and biology would be if every student were able to own one to play around with…Sell ’em for a buck and use the profits to ship the freebies out across the world.