This 50-Cent Microscope Could Save the World, and It’s Made of Paper

Imagine being able to make a microscope out of paper that could identify and diagnose a variety of deadly diseases like Malaria. The most shocking fact: it only costs around 50-cents to make.

Manu Prakash, a professor at Stanford University, and his students have developed what they call the 'foldscope.' It is a microscope made from a flat sheet of paper, a watch battery, LED, and optical units. When folded together, the foldscope creates a functional instrument that magnify an object up to 2,000 times. It can also project project an image on any surface.

This new tool could become a life-saver for millions of people around the world waiting to be diagnosed and treated for deadly diseases like Malaria, Chagas disease, or Leishmaniosis.