$1 Fold-Up Microscope

James Turrell's light prints, a $1 microscope, contamination-detecting chopsticks and more in our weekly look at the web

Using a special printer and a drop of optical-quality glue, Stanford University bioengineer Manu Prakash has invented a way to turn a piece of paper into a microscope. The printer prints a precise diagram instructing how to fold the paper, and the glue acts as a lens. With a little effort, a microscope is created—and all for under a dollar. With applications from schools to …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

James Turrell's light prints, a $1 microscope, contamination-detecting chopsticks and more in our weekly look at the web

1. A Mysterious WTC Photographer In his research for the National Geographic Channel documentary “9/10: The Final Hours,” filmmaker Erik Nelson was missing one vital piece. While he had more than enough exterior footage of the two towers, he had very little of what the buildings looked like inside. Thanks to an internet miracle, one of his film researchers discovered a wealth of images on …

Freezing Out Death

James Turrell's light prints, a $1 microscope, contamination-detecting chopsticks and more in our weekly look at the web

Over the course of six hours, Patrick Savage experienced seven cardiac arrests with his heart fully stopping for a total of 90 minutes—yet he survived. Doctors used an experimental and possibly revolutionary technique once thought reserved for science fiction: therapeutic hypothermia. Covering Savage’s body in cold packs and pumping chilled saline through his body to draw out any remaining heat slowed his metabolism and halted …