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microscope posts

CellScope, the cellphone microscope, gets UV upgrade to spot tiny glowing things

by Tim Stevens posted Jul 22nd 2009 @ 9:23AM

CellScope, the cellphone microscope, gets UV upgrade to spot tiny, tiny things

It was over a year ago that UC Berkeley introduced the world to CellScope, the 60x microscope for cellphones made from cheap, off the shelf components (like a re-purposed belt clip). Now, even though we're disappointingly still not seeing this thing in stores, there's an upgraded version able to take pictures of even smaller nasties. Using a filter the scope can now spot microscopic critters tagged with dye that glows under fluorescent light -- things like Mycobacterium tuberculosis (that's the cause of TB if you, like us, lack a med degree). A software app is able to then count the number of cells within a given sample and tell you whether to worry about that annoying cough. There's still no word on whether this product will ever actually start scoping out such things in the wild, but we certainly hope it will -- if only so that we can keep our vast collection of cellphone accessories complete. Video after the break.

[Via Crave]

Continue reading CellScope, the cellphone microscope, gets UV upgrade to spot tiny glowing things

Cellphone as microscope on the cheap, bugs beware

by Sean Cooper posted Mar 22nd 2008 @ 11:58PM

Go tech students! This handy idea, brought to you by the minds at University of California, Berkeley, brings up to a 60x microscope to your cell for roughly $75. The 60x attachment is useful for diagnosing things like Malaria while in the field, while its weaker 5x sibling can be used to look at skin conditions. The prototype was apparently made from off the shelf components -- including some low power LEDs that illuminate the subject -- and snaps in place with a modified belt clip. This is a pretty handy piece of kit when you consider how much easier it may be to snap a pic of something and fire it off to a lab via a data connection instead of having to physically bring a sample. We're sure the poor soul featured in the pic we have here agrees, as it looks like he / she may have a tiny shrimp infestation.

[Via MAKE Blog]

iPhone CPU up close and personal

by Sean Cooper posted Jul 11th 2007 @ 9:44AM

We've seen a bevy of pics featuring the iPhone's internals, but this set goes a step further and gets us into the action microscope-style. The gents at μblog sliced and diced some poor specimen and discovered that the chip contains both CPU and RAM, and while both have serial numbers, no brand markings can be made out. These pics are rather beautiful in some ethereal, deep-sea way, though aside from blowing them up and draping them on a wall, we're not too sure what else can be done with them. A reader pointed out that the images look like Legend of Zelda maps, though we're convinced they are definitely more Gauntlet-esque. Thoughts?

[Via Hacked Gadgets]