Last month, Medgadget announced the development of the Magnifi iPhone adapter from start-up Arcturus Labs (Palo Alto, CA), which connects your iPhone 4 or 4S to optical instruments ranging from microscopes to binoculars and telescopes.

To learn more about the evolution of the Magnifi, we spoke with newlyweds Xianne and Isaac Penny who came up with the rough idea for the device while in grad school at Stanford University. They began the development of the product after graduating. Isaac Penny also worked as an engineer at Intuitive Surgical (Sunnyvale, CA), where he helped create the daVinci Single-Site line of instruments.

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Researchers from UCLA’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and the School of Medicine have designed a system that can harness distant groups of people to analyze pathology images for signs of disease. They tested the ability of non-professionals to quickly learn to detect malaria when looking at images of red blood cells and have shown that if necessary, with a bit of help from online crowds, large groups of people can potentially be screened for the disease.

The system they built relies on video gaming to attract people to do the visual tasks necessary to spot malaria.  The study subjects, mostly untrained newbie undergrads, showed a spotting ability that was within 1.25 percent of medical professionals.

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Over at the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), researchers have developed a special scanning electron microscope (SEM) capable of generating high-resolution 3D images of the study subject. 3D SEM is actually not new technology, however, the JST SEM is the first device of its kind that can show 3D images in real-time. The secret is a special electromagnetic lens that slants an electron beam aimed at a specimen, which results in instant left and right parallax images needed to create a 3D effect. Normal 3D SEM imaging techniques require the left and right parallax images to be taken separately and at different angles.

If you have a pair of red/blue 3D glasses, be sure to take a look at the above anaglyph of a piece of metal, produced by the JST SEM.

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Malignant cells are different from regular cells in their biochemistry as well as in their morphology. Studying physical properties of such cells can often be more advantageous than looking at their biochemical characteristics because labeling is not required and sample preparation is easier to perform.

Scanning through thousands of cells to spot a cancerous one requires a fast device, and researchers at UCLA have developed one called deformability cytometer that can effectively “feel” around the entire perimeter of individual cells, using a liquid flow trap, at 2,000 cells per second.

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A team of researchers from the University of Alberta in Canada has developed a new DNA analysis system capable of performing up to 20 simultaneous tests. The system, dubbed the Domino, uses polymerase chain reaction technology to amplify and identify specific DNA sequences.

Like many point of care diagnostic technologies, the Domino consists of a bench top unit and a disposable microfluidic cartridge containing an array of twenty gel posts. Each of the posts acts as a separate interface to a single sample of blood allowing several genetic tests to be performed simultaneously. The Domino may be used to screen for specific diseases or to determine genetic resistance to particular medication.

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Illumina has launched the MyGenome iPad app, an app which visualizes the human genome. It allows you to explore a real human genome and view reports about important genetic variations. In its current iteration it acts mainly as an educational tool, however in future version Illumina foresees it becoming a clinical tool for use by physicians with their patients to improve communication of genetic data.

The MyGenome app features an actual genome, a genome Map, health cards and reports and a video journey into the genome. The included genome belongs to Illumina’s own CEO Jay Flatley. More interestingly however, in future versions it will be possible to explore your own genome after you have had your genome sequenced by Illumina’s Individual Genome Sequencing service. Illumina plans to deliver genetic data first to the ordering physician via the app, providing direct access to the consumer only after the doctor has discussed the result with the consumer. The app is available for $0.99 from the Apple app store.

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More than a decade ago, Nicolas L’Hureux and Todd McCallister formed a company with the intent to create a human-derived  alternative to synthetic blood vessels or grafts that are frequently used to treat dialysis patients. Their company, Cytograft Tissue Engineering Inc. (Novato, CA), announced in June of last year that it had succeeded in implanting lab-grown blood vessels made from skin cells from donors into three dialysis patients. At present, the company has announced that it has made the process of creating such human textiles less expensive, slashing the production costs in half.

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Laboratories around the world full of microscopes continue to function without an easy way to capture images in the eyepieces. Struggling lab techs that dreamed of being artists end up drawing much of what they see with their eyes, the same way the lab techs have done for generations.

Now Xianne and Isaac Penny, designers out of Palo Alto, CA, have developed an iPhone case that makes it easy to snap the phone’s camera in front of an eyepiece and quickly capture images for further use. The same adapter case can be used with telescopes, binoculars, and other optical devices.

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RNA and DNA may no longer be the only candidates capable of evolving and building life forms around themselves. It is also likely, from the evolutionary standpoint, that RNA, and its likely successor DNA, might not have been the original replicators in the primordial soup either, as they have evolved from some earlier, more simple replicators. So a search has been on in the scientific community to create original self-replicating molecular systems. A team of international researchers has now developed six synthetic alternatives to our own genetic molecules that are capable of storing and transmitting information. Dubbed “XNA,” the new genetic material is also capable of undergoing evolution. In addition, XNA happens to also be stronger than DNA.

The “X” in XNA stands for “xeno-,” which is derived from the ancient Greek prefix meaning “alien” or “foreign.” Science magazine proclaims that the breakthrough could be the beginning of “a new era of synthetic genetics” with implications for exobiology—a field that investigates the potential for life outside of Earth as well as the impact of extraterrestrial environments on living organisms

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Researchers at MIT have developed a new type of nanoparticle that can synthesize proteins on demand. Acting as a “protein-factory”, these particles can be activated once they reach their targets by shining ultraviolet light on them. The particles could be used to deliver small proteins including toxic drugs and eventually larger proteins such as antibodies.

The nanoparticles self-assemble from a mixture that includes lipids, ribosomes, amino acids and the enzymes needed for protein synthesis. Also included in the mixture are DNA sequences for the desired proteins. The DNA is trapped by a chemical compound called DMNPE, which reversibly binds to it. This compound releases the DNA when exposed to ultraviolet light, after which protein synthesis starts.

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