Microscopes

If you're into photography, you're probably no stranger to the myriad of ways you can take macros with your smartphone. Your phone's built-in camera may not take great pictures up close, but you can modify it to do so with anything from a magnifying glass to a drop of water. H ...more

Have you ever wondered what sort of microscopic critters are floating around in your water? Well, you can find out with just a few bucks worth of materials and a laser pointer. Really. That's all it takes to build your very own homemade laser projection microscope, aka a water ...more

Below, a selection of images from the Nikon International Small World Photomicrography Competition. The Big Picture reports: "The competition began in 1974 as a means to recognize and applaud the efforts of those involved with photography through the light microscope. Peerin ...more

Shot with a Nokia N8 cell phone equipped with a 50x CellScope microscope, Dot is the world’s smallest stop motion animated film. Created by the makers of the Wallace & Gromit series, the figures were made with a 3D printer, each hand-painted with the aid of a microscope. Watch ...more

Augmented reality might not be able to cure cancer (yet), but when combined with a machine learning algorithm, it can help doctors diagnose the disease. Researchers at Google have developed an augmented reality microscope (ARM) that takes real-time data from a neural network ...more

Black lights come in all shapes and sizes, and they're useful in a variety of ways. They can help you spot fake currency, urine stains, interesting rocks, and deadly scorpions, and they can even help you view cool fluorescent artwork. Most black lights work using a filter or ...more

Before I really get into this article, it's important to note that you do not need a Steampunk persona (or "steamsona") in order to be a Steampunk, or wear Steampunk clothes. Some people like to pretend to be a different person when dressed up in Steampunk clothing, but that i ...more

I have an absolutely wonderful time making projects and writing articles for all of you mad scientists! Today, I will bring you behind the scenes for a look at the workbench, tools, and software that make the Mad Science World possible. Above is my beautiful workbench! My who ...more

Are you prone to crusades of the overambitious? Well, here's one for you: try to find and identify every animal on earth. You may think scientists have a handle on this, having pinned down 1.4 million animal species so far, but there are millions more are out there, waiting to ...more

MAKE Magazine recently opened the Make: Science Room, a "DIY science classroom, virtual laboratory, and a place to share your projects, hacks, and laboratory tips with other amateur scientists." The resource currently offers labs in chemistry and forensics, with the promise o ...more

Using extreme time-lapse microscopy, scientists watched a virus take over a bacteria to create a cell that looked and functioned more like a plant or animal cell. True story. In a study published in Science, researchers from the Division of Biological Sciences and Department ...more

In this Tuesday's Brief Reality report, there's a trio of stories from the healthcare world where augmented reality is helping out with surgical microscopes, asthma treatment, and other diagnostic and treatment tools. There's also something for all of you AR/VR storytellers ou ...more

When it comes to smartphone screens, there are two predominant technologies—the traditional LCD panel, and the newer AMOLED display. Most phones still use LCD screens, as the tech is more cost-effective due to its longstanding reign as the primary display type in TVs, smartpho ...more

All fields of study have their own language. For people interested in learning about microbes, the language can sometimes be downright difficult — but it doesn't need to be. From antibiotics to xerophiles, we have you covered in an easy-to-understand glossary. Terms are liste ...more

Mad Science is looking for more hackers, makers, and DIYers to participate in our community madness. If you've recently designed or made a project, we want to see it! Share with the other Mad Scientists out there by posting up a how-to of your pet project on our community cork ...more

It's a shame that one of the world's tastiest foods can be such a pain to prep. Most cooks are familiar with this conundrum: chopping or crushing garlic releases a pungent liquid that causes bits of garlic to stick your knife and hands, creating a messy affair. So what is goin ...more

Whenever we make a homemade circuit, we use what are called through-hole components. Any components with long metal leads is a through-hole component. They are great for soldering to, but it's tough to fit enough through-hole resistors and capacitors into a smartphone. To get ...more

It's truly amazing how far smartphone camera hardware has come in such a short period of time. It took roughly 5 years to advance the image processing capabilities from a pixelated mess to the crisp and clear photos we can take today. This reaches well beyond the megapixel spe ...more

You just sat down, coffee in hand, and the day is ready to start. Now that you have taken a few sips, let me pose a question: What is living in that coffeemaker of yours? The answer might make you dump that coffee down the drain pronto. Extremophiles are rugged microbial indi ...more

As far as logos go, few are as iconic and instantly recognizable as Apple's old-school rainbow emblem. No matter how sleek their products get, people are still nostalgic for the old, colorful logo, and this mod from Adafruit basically proves it. If you have some pretty decent ...more

Last time we took a look at some of the creatures of the pond, including the dragonfly nymph. Today, we examine the all-grown-up dragonflies in the field you are used to seeing on summer days! Dragonflies are not dangerous, but the extra large ones can bite you something fierc ...more

How small is Russian artist Anatoly Konenko's microminiature aquarium? Well, for starters, it holds just two tablespoons of water. Not that you could ever fill it with a spoon, of course! The force would tear the décor to bits. Konenko favors a syringe for that particular task ...more

Tardigrades are some of the toughest but least well-known creatures on our planet. These tiny animals, also called moss piglets or water bears, are definitely of this earth, but some can boast that they've also traveled to space. They have been found in the fossil record as l ...more

Wish you could see Sandro Botticelli's most famous painting, The Birth of Venus? For those of you who can't make it to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, just keep on reading... This morning, Google released a new project, aptly named the Google Art Project. This new onli ...more

There is a secret world hidden just beneath the surface of every pond, lake, and stream. Those waters are filled with wails of hideous creates murdering other hideous creatures for food and sport. Beautiful animals like dragonflies and damselflies that you see in the light of ...more

The year 2020 was a pivotal span of time during which the word "virtual" took on a brand new meaning. Instead of referring to VR or augmented reality, the term was hijacked to describe meeting across long distances through a variety of software tools, most often through video. ...more

Lyme is a growing threat as we move into warmer weather in the US. Researchers have said this year could be one of the worst for this tick-borne disease, as a skyrocketing mouse population and warmer temperatures increase the risk. Knowing where this risk is highest is going ...more

You can take some really awesome photos of water droplets if you've got a fast enough camera (and flash), but water drops aren't just spectacular as photographic subjects—you can also make them a part of the photographic process by using a water drop as a DIY projection micros ...more

Fasting—or the practice of regularly abstaining from ingesting anything except water—is a pretty drastic move. I tried to fast for two days and made it to the 12-hour mark, which is when I broke down and ate a quart of ice cream. However, I may have to try it again, since "sh ...more

Incredible. There's a type of sand (found only on the small Okinawan island of Iriomote) in which each grain resembles a tiny star. And I never would have known, if it hadn't been for blogger Jason Kottke's pal Mouser. Mouser collects sand from all around the world, and then d ...more

The wait is over. The Samsung Galaxy S6, arguably the best Android phone of this year, has just launched. There was already a lot of hype about this super phone—its looks, its specifications, and its other functions have been under the microscope for quite some time. It will n ...more

Artist Pery Burge uses water, paint and ink to create images that look like they might have been captured by the Hubble Telescope or under the super-zoom of a powerful microscope. "I use a Canon EOS 500D digital camera with EF100mm F2.8 macro lens and Speedlite 420EX flash, a ...more

Our canine best friends could spread our bacterial worst nightmare, according to a recent study. The problem with drug-resistant bacteria is well known. Overused, poorly used, and naturally adaptive bacteria clearly have us outnumbered. As science drives hard to find alternat ...more

As drug-resistant bacteria become more commonplace, researchers are looking for new antibacterial strategies to disrupt disease-causing microbes. Some scientists are working to create new drugs, while others are trying out drug combinations. Another group, however, are ditchin ...more

Microcontrollers like ESP8266-based boards have built-in Wi-Fi, and that's really cool, but what's even cooler is that certain pro models of the D1 Mini also have a port where you can connect a directional antenna. This can give you exceptional range, but if you were to just p ...more

Frosty the Snowman is a fairy tale they say, but this microscopic snowman is very real and just broke the record for the world's smallest snowman. (Though, it's not Guinness-official yet.) Created by the Western University Nanofabrication Facility in London, Ontario, this tin ...more

As deeply as smartphones are integrated into our daily lives, it's no surprise that people are finding ways to use them to stay healthy. From detecting cancer and radiation to diagnosing STDs, phones have come a long way, baby. The latest advancement comes from Aydogan Ozcan ...more

The story of Helicobacter pylori is a real testament to the tenacity of medical researchers to prove their hypothesis. It took decades before the scientific world would accept that the bacteria H. pylori caused ulcers. Now that we know the bacterial culprit can cause peptic u ...more

A deadly type of brain tumor and Zika-related brain damage in developing fetuses are devastating brain conditions that, at first glance, may seem unrelated. However, thanks to new research, their paths seem to cross in a way that could benefit patients. A new study has shown t ...more

Scientists know that bacteria create their own energy, get nutrients to run their cellular processes, and multiply. But, bacteria haven't been shown to respond to external mechanical stimulation or signals in a way that's similar to how our bodies respond to touch, until now. ...more

What's in a sneeze? Quite a lot—dirt, mucus, and infectious germs—it seems. And sneezing the right way can reduce the germs you share with neighbors. It's just a sneeze right? Everybody sneezes. So if you share a few germs when you are sick (or not sick), it's not such a terr ...more

In the ongoing search to find better ways to use antibiotics, an extract made from maple syrup has some surprisingly important medical benefits. As bacteria continue to outmaneuver antibiotics, our options for treating infections narrow. Plus, slimy bacterial communities call ...more

What Is Graphene? Graphene is a very thin layer of graphite. Graphite is made out of carbon (the mother of all elements), and is normally used in pencils. Graphite is also used for brake padding in larger vehicles, the batteries in laptops or portable gaming systems, and in t ...more