Microscopic Marvels: Microscope for the Masses

Summary posted by Meridian on 6/9/2009
Source: Nature News
Author: Erika Check Hayden

A researcher at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, has devised a microscope that is small, cheap and mass-producible, and may transform the way microscopy is done. Changhuei Yang, says his microscope, which could cost as little at US$10 each, could have the same revolutionary impact on science that the integrated circuit had on the electronics industry. The microscope uses a "direct projection" technique that eliminates the need for lenses. Instead, he uses sensing chips with a thin layer of metal into which 500-nanometer holes are punched, creating apertures that are smaller than a pixel and are patterned along the path of a microfluidic channel. The chip captures repeated but staggered snapshots of the sample as it floats along. The microscope could boost low-cost science and medicine in developing nations, according to the article, as it is rugged, works with sunlight, and needs no more computational power than what is found in an iPod. Yang is currently working with Ricardo Leitão, a postdoctoral fellow at New York University School of Medicine, and founder of a non-profit group called Tek4Dev (Science & Technology for Sustainable Development), to test the microscope's ability to diagnose malaria-infected red blood cells. Microscopes are the standard method for detecting the disease, but are often few and far between in malaria-endemic areas. Leitão said "[H]aving a diagnostic tool as powerful as Yang's integrated with our hardware and 'tele' ability would be of tremendous clinical value." The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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our team contact us site map	Microscopic Marvels: Microscope for the Masses Summary posted by Meridian on 6/9/2009 Source: Nature News Author: Erika Check Hayden A researcher at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, has devised a microscope that is small, cheap and mass-producible, and may transform the way microscopy is done. Changhuei Yang, says his microscope, which could cost as little at US$10 each, could have the same revolutionary impact on science that the integrated circuit had on the electronics industry. The microscope uses a "direct projection" technique that eliminates the need for lenses. Instead, he uses sensing chips with a thin layer of metal into which 500-nanometer holes are punched, creating apertures that are smaller than a pixel and are patterned along the path of a microfluidic channel. The chip captures repeated but staggered snapshots of the sample as it floats along. The microscope could boost low-cost science and medicine in developing nations, according to the article, as it is rugged, works with sunlight, and needs no more computational power than what is found in an iPod. Yang is currently working with Ricardo Leitão, a postdoctoral fellow at New York University School of Medicine, and founder of a non-profit group called Tek4Dev (Science & Technology for Sustainable Development), to test the microscope's ability to diagnose malaria-infected red blood cells. Microscopes are the standard method for detecting the disease, but are often few and far between in malaria-endemic areas. Leitão said "[H]aving a diagnostic tool as powerful as Yang's integrated with our hardware and 'tele' ability would be of tremendous clinical value." The article can be viewed online at the link below. The original article may still be available at www.nature.com/news/2009/090603/full/459632a.html As tagged by Meridian Institute: Energy: Solar Health And Medical: Diagnostics, Devices, Diseases Implications: Human Enhancement, Socio-Economic Effects Materials And Manufacturing: Electronics, Manufacturing, Materials Nanomaterials: Metal Nanoparticle Regions: North America Stakeholders: NGO, Academia Minerals And Metals: Metals Related Forums: Health and Medical Materials and Manufacturing Metals and Minerals Socio-Economic print format	NDN Home Subscribe Manage Subscription Search News Archives Nanotechnology Quintuples Heating Capacity of Solar Water Heaters -- Renewable Energy Magazine (9/1/2010) Researchers at the University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil, have developed a solar heating system that uses nanotechnology to heat water to five times the temperature of a conventional system, while also permitting the collector surface area to retain up to 98 percent of heat from solar radiation. [More] Pakistan's Science Minister Attacks Funding Cuts -- SciDev.Net (9/1/2010) The Pakistan government has cuts its funds for the Pakistan Ministry of Science and Technology's 2010-2011 budget by almost half, causing the science minister, Muhammad Azam Khan Swati, to criticize his own government. [More] Nanotechnology: Small wonders -- Nature (9/1/2010) This article takes an in-depth look at the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)'s first 10 years - to find out where the money went and what the initiative plans to do next. [More] Nanotech on Farmers' Fields -- Silicon Nutrition (8/31/2010) A plant nutrition study that addresses nano-sized plant nutrients is now available from the Landbouwkundige Uitgeverij G.C. van den Berg (Veenendaal, The Netherlands). [More] More News... Learn how to include these headlines on your own website by clicking here. Please email us if you require text-only versions of the daily emails.