Cellphone as microscope on the cheap, bugs beware
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]
