Geek News

Your smartphone could soon be a fully functional microscope capable of examining samples as small as 1/200th of a millimeter. Australian researchers have developed a clip-on device that requires no external light or power sources to produce a clear picture of microscopic organisms and cells from animals, plants and blood -- and it can be made by anyone with a 3D printer , as the team is sharing the 3D printing files publicly . Unlike other phone-based microscopes which use bulky LEDs and other power sources, the device works using internal illumination tunnels, which use light from the camera flash to illuminate the sample from behind. Lead developer Dr Anthony Orth said: "We've designed a simple mobile phone microscope that takes advantage of the integrated illumination available with nearly all smartphone cameras," adding that the device can be used as "an inexpensive and portable tool for all types of onsite or remote-area monitoring." The team anticipates...

Every year, millions of people around the world die from drinking unclean water. Now, researchers have developed a process that can purify water , no matter how dirty it is, in a single step. Scientists from Australian research organization CSIRO have created a filtration technique using a graphene film with microscopic nano-channels that lets water pass through, but stops pollutants. The process, called "Graphair", is so effective that water samples from Sydney Harbor were safe to drink after being treated. And while the film hails from graphene , Graphair is comparatively cheaper, faster and more environmentally-friendly to make, as its primary component is renewable soybean oil, which also helps maximise the efficiency of the purifying technique's filter counterpart. Over time, oil-based pollutants can impede water filters, so contaminants have to be removed before filtering can even begin, but using Graphair removes these pollutants faster than any other method. W...