Futurity.org » microscope

Petri dish takes pics with cell phone camera

Katie Neith-Caltech — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:25:19 +0000

CALTECH (US) — The imaging sensor chips that form the heart of built-in cell phone cameras are helping engineers transform the way cell cultures are imaged by serving as the platform for a “smart” petri dish.

Dubbed ePetri by researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the device is described in a paper that appears online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Portable microscope fits on fingertip

Louis Bergeron-Stanford — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:23:43 +0000

STANFORD (US) — Researchers have built a portable microscope so small it can fit on a fingertip—perfect for use in the lab or in the field.

The microscope, which weighs less than 2 grams, was built using existing technologies. Many of the components were originally developed for cell phones and other consumer devices. All the parts could be readily mass-produced, which could make them inexpensive.

The scope is designed to see fluorescent markers, such as dyes, commonly used by medical and biological researchers studying the brains of mice.

Missing cell ‘cap’ signals sickness

Mary Spiro-JHU — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:25:13 +0000

This is a 3-D reconstruction of a mouse cell on coated glass. The perinuclear actin cap discovered by the Johns Hopkins team is represented in red. In hearty cells, a bundled “cap” of thread-like fibers holds the cell’s nucleus, its genetic storehouse, in its proper place. Understanding this cap’s influence on cells could provide clues to diseases such as cancer and muscular dystrophy. (Credit: Shyam Khatau/JHU)

JOHNS HOPKINS (US)—Wearing a cap can be much more than a fashion statement. In mammal cells, it’s an indication of good health. A bundled cap of thread-like fibers holds a healthy cell’s nucleus in place, researchers have found.

Understanding this cap’s influence on cell and nuclear shape could provide clues to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as cancer, muscular dystrophy, and the age-accelerating condition known as progeria, say researchers from Johns Hopkins University.

Have tiny microscope, will travel

Futurity-Jenny Leonard — Tue, 12 May 2009 17:30:03 +0000

The inverted microscope design utilizes two first-surface mirrors to bend the optical path into a conveniently shaped body. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow)

RICE (US)—The backbreaking work of delivering medical care to those in need will get a little less so if the next version of Rice University’s Lab-in-a-Backpack incorporates a compact, yet powerful microscope that weighs about a pound.

Rice bioengineering student Andy Miller, who designed a tiny, portable microscope. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow)

Andy Miller, a senior bioengineering student at Rice, designed the microscope that will nestle among the other diagnostic supplies in the pack—a product of Rice 360° and Beyond Traditional Borders international health initiatives. The pack can be carried to otherwise-inaccessible locations, like remote villages where residents rarely see a doctor. Rice will send about three dozen backpacks abroad this summer.