We have pocket watches, pocket cameras and now — with smartphones — pocket computers. Origami microscope: Lines on the paper show you how to fold up and assemble the microscope. Bioengineer Manu ...

The diversity and breadth of Foldscope’s initial users wasn’t by accident: when Stanford University engineer Manu Prakash and his research students manufactured the first version of the microscope in ...

Students at Eden School in northern India prepare specimens they've collected to examine in the Foldscope. The paper microscope, invented a decade ago, is given for free for schools in lower resource ...

A new microscope can be printed on a flat piece of paper and assembled with a few extra components in less than 10 minutes. All the parts to make it cost less than a dollar, according to Stanford ...

Paper aeroplanes are the extent of most people’s origami skills, and even then there’s no guarantee they’ll actually be able to fly further than your hand. Get a bit more creative and there are ...

A $1 microscope made of paper might help diagnose diseases in the developing world -- provided there are also people trained to use it. The folded-paper microscope, called the Foldscope, could also ...

Sometimes, inventors come up with things the world wants. The Rubik’s Cube. iPhones. Snuggies. Then there are the things the world needs. The wheel. Penicillin. Anything with caffeine in it. The ...

All folded up and ready to magnify: The Foldscope weighs less than two nickels, is small enough to fit in your back pocket and offers more than 2,000-fold magnification. Origami microscope: Lines on ...