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For last 10 years - we have worked with thousands of organizations around the world helping support them in integrating foldscope programs. To bring in a new cohort of organizations - we are re-launching “fast and curious” 2025 edition - apply and get a Foldscope trainer and Foldscopes for free!

🔬 Free microscopes + teacher training! 📅 Applications are now open. To apply, visit www.foldscope.com or scan the QR code (video) ✉️ Any questions? Email us at [email protected] #stem #education #science #teachers #training #free #microscopy #educators #professionaldevelopment #microscope

🚨Calling all SciFri Fans in the Bay Area🚨 🎉 SciFri is going LIVE in Redwood City, California! Join us and @KQED for a special 2-hour live show. And yes, ToddlerBot will be there. 🤖 🎟️ Grab your tickets now and use code SCIFRI50 for 50% off! 🔗 buff.ly/HxfLJjc

Happy Science Friday! Here’s what we’re covering today on the show. Listen on your local public radio station, 2-4 p.m. ET. 🐙 🍄🎧

Congratulations Grace!!!! So great to talk with her this summer in Portland about symbioses in non-model systems :)

A fantastic walk into the land of ideas - and now we have a new PhD in the house - congratulations Dr Grace Zhong. That was a spectacular defense covering everything from biophysics to neuroscience to symbiosis and actin-driven motility. So proud of this wonderful moment!

Read the full story: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Learn more from @stanford.edu : news.stanford.edu/stories/2025... #Arctic #SeaIce #Diatoms #Ecology #Microbiology

Did you know tiny algae can "skate" within Arctic sea ice? ⛸️ Our new study in @pnas.org reveals the secret life of ice diatoms: they are actively gliding to navigate the ice! This adds a new dimension to the sea ice ecosystem, revealing an active, dynamic ecological niche. @prakashlab.bsky.social

Point vocabulaire : On est passés de "innovation/recyclage ingénieux aka jugaad" cher à Manu Prakash par ex (pour lequel j'ai fait des illus pour son projet Foldscope) à "Frankenstein laptops repair markets", quel monde.

Manu Prakash practices “recreational biology,” a scientific approach that explores life in the same playful way that puzzles probe math. “Basic science is not at the service of something, but the groundwork that is our entire society’s foundation.” www.quantamagazine.org/how-paradoxi...

A wonderful interview in @quantamagazine.bsky.social with Manu Prakash, whose achievements include diagnosing malaria from the spectrum of infected blood cells, making a microscope for $1, and discovering photosynthetic algae that rise and fall in the water column by inflating like balloons.

Basic science is not at the service of something, but the groundwork that is our entire society’s foundation. —Manu Prakash, bioengineer at Stanford University and proponent of “recreational biology” QUANTA | 28 May 2025 | molly herring

Manu Prakash invented “frugal science” tools that drastically reduce the cost of diagnosing malaria.Talking to @mollyherring.bsky.social, he discusses the advantages of following curiosity: “Observation is a practice, and if you don’t practice, you lose it.”

Manu Prakash - a beautiful combination of working on the world's most pressing problems & looking at stuff because it's interesting with no idea what the outcome or use could be. Both are massively valuable & that both is and isn't the point. Make sure to play. www.quantamagazine.org/how-paradoxi...

If you are at Ars Electronica this year - come see the showing of “that sinking feeling” - our viewpoint on how to engage with multiple crisis unfolding in our oceans. See you in Linz! ars.electronica.art/panic/en/vie...

New Dr. in the house.. Dr Ethan Li. 🎉🎉👏🏽 What a remarkable journey anchored in open science. Half a dozen open hardware projects ranging from global health (Octopi malaria diagnostics), ecological monitoring (Planktoscope, ESPressoscope), medical devices (Pufferfish) & more. So many scaling insights.

Spent a memorable summer at Physiology course at @mblscience.bsky.social Very coooool science with some lovely people! Thanks @brangwynnelab.bsky.social and @gladfelterlab.bsky.social for being amazinnnng course coordinators! 🧵

NSF and NIH cut off almost 300 grants to UCLA. Story by @dangaristo.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...

Stories make us human. An office view like this inspires many - I have been jotting them down non stop - hope to have the time one day to share them.

And today we are treated with a sunset of a life time. I have never seen pallet of nature shine so bright in the sky - if you were to paint this, you would run out of colors. With lab members Enrico and Hannah. Well deserved break in our grueling schedule to see the big picture of why we are here. 🌊

A whole universe of life that most folks are completely unaware of. It makes me wonder if this complete wonderland of life is unique in the universe. I hope it’s not. But this is the only home we have and are aware of. We have a duty to protect it.

You can spend a life time on a boat - and still be looking at new things every single day! Here is a quick glimpse of what’s just under our feet/boat!!

It’s always weird to be in the middle of the ocean and see sea state 0.

Somewhere in Atlantic - and sea is like glass for last few days. We are out here measuring carbon flux & how ocean removes all of that carbon. Microbes don’t work for us; so unless we understand the processes - we don’t know where tipping points are. Thankful to @NSF for supporting basic science.

The one and only Manu @prakashlab.bsky.social inspiring @mblscience.bsky.social Physiology students at this morning's lecture.

"You can spend a lifetime on a boat looking at stuff, and you're still looking at new stuff every single day." --Manu Prakash @prakashlab.bsky.social Hear more about Manu's quest to meet every organism on 🌎 on The Leap, by HF + @scifri.bsky.social. 🎧 bit.ly/3ZVYUtW youtu.be/iG60FtvhmgU

Thank you @scifri.bsky.social and @flichtman.bsky.social for featuring the work of Manu and @teamfoldscope.bsky.social! I hope this inspires more people to have fun exploring the microscopic world with a #Foldscope! #FearlessMicroscopy #ScienceIsFun #ScienceIsBeautiful #EduSky

Thanks for a wonderful conversation Flora! Hoping to join on an expedition together in near future. Keep exploring @teamfoldscope.bsky.social

Today's new episode of The Leap features Stanford bioengineer, @macfound.org genius, #HFScout Manu Prakash (@prakashlab.bsky.social ). Take a listen below 👇

Manu Prakash @prakashlab.bsky.social hasn’t met an organism he didn’t like, so he’s planning to see every creature on Earth. How? Find out in Ep. 5 of “The Leap" with @hypothesisfund.bsky.social‬. 🎧 Listen here: buff.ly/ZGtlvOO

"We should be allowed to build questions that come from our experiences, not just a textbook." ~Manu Prakash #FearlessMicroscopy #STEAM #FrugalScience #EquityAndAccess #EduSky www.quantamagazine.org/how-paradoxi...

"Once, many people feel that they don’t have a voice, and the Foldscope community is a way that you can use creativity to distinguish yourself — not your status, who you know or where you published your paper." www.quantamagazine.org/how-paradoxi...

Had a lot of fun sharing our research obsessions with @prakashlab.bsky.social and @livingphysics.org at @aria-research.bsky.social 's first ever Summit recently! Curious about Suraj Bramhavar's Nature Computes Better opportunity space? You can now watch our segment back... 😏 vimeo.com/1087951924

Manu Prakash (@prakashlab.bsky.social) explored microscopic worlds and initiatives to democratize science in a recent #KITP Public Lecture 🔬 Watch Recreational Biology: Topological puzzles in cell biology at youtu.be/bZ_BlGbjhuU

Incredible Molly Herring wrote a story on the philosophy behind the work we do at PrakashLab. Wonder & curiosity.. even more important to share when every day is a new attack on the fundamental principles of scientific explorations. Thanks @quantamagazine.bsky.social for this interaction.

Manu Prakash practices “recreational biology,” a scientific approach that explores life in the same playful way that puzzles probe math. “Basic science is not at the service of something, but the groundwork that is our entire society’s foundation.” www.quantamagazine.org/how-paradoxi...

Manu Prakash @prakashlab.bsky.social @crick.ac.uk! Amazing talk, Infectious enthusiasm and a refreshing reminder of why we all should stay curious...

#FocalPlaneCorrespondent @varsha-mahapatra.bsky.social blogs about her experience at #biologists100. Varsha’s highlights include Manu Prakash’s @prakashlab.bsky.social plenary lecture & the session on climate change with Jane Francis & Hans-Otto Pörtner. focalplane.biologists.com/2025/05/01/b...

🔬🍻 We're hosting Pint of Science, a vibrant festival in Palo Alto! May 19-21 at Café Venetia, Scotty’s Bar & Sprout Café. Pick your favorite topics! ✨ Bioprinting: Organs like Westworld? 🤖 Brains in Virtual Worlds 🧬 Tiny Mighty Cells etc. 🔍 PLUS: Origami Microscopy wonders @prakashlab.bsky.social

Adventures In Microscopy: Sweet-William 1/3 The first flower I put under the #Foldscope from my Mother’s Day bouquet was a Sweet-William. Enjoy! The pollen grains were sooooo tiny - it was hard to get a good picture of them! (340X+5X) #FearlessMicroscopy #STEAM #ScienceIsFun #EduSky

Here's to helping 4H Ohio students participate in #FearlessMicroscopy!! #Foldscope #TeachBetter #MagnifyCuriosity #Equity #Access #ScienceIsFun #EduSky

✨ Exciting news! Our new book “Microscope Mysteries” is here 🎉📘 Created in collaboration with 4-H Ohio and The Ohio State University, this hands-on guide invites youth to explore the hidden worlds revealed through a Foldscope 🔬 Get your copy now 👉 extensionpubs.osu.edu/microscope-mysteries #STEM

Microscopes in space people - what else can I say. Awesome working with @adwol.bsky.social Don’t fly without one.

Delighted that our paper is finally out at npj Microgravity! We built a microscope to work in 0g, on board a @esa.int parabolic flight - FlightScope - and imaged signal transduction in yeast. Supported by @ukspaceagency.bsky.social . doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Adventures in Microscopy: Lizard Skin Part 3! Observing the shed scales from a Carolina anole foot made me feel like I was studying a dragon! Tiny lizards can spark a powerful imagination when viewed under a Foldscope! #FearlessMicroscopy #ScienceIsFun #STEAM #MagnifyCuriosity #EduSky

This is a great way to use Foldscopes and microscopy for a creative writing prompt! #Teachers - how do you encourage student #creativity with science tools?

Federal research cuts impact local economies, and stall progress. Publish an opinion piece in your hometown paper on June 16th to SPREAD THE WORD about how scientific research contributes to the everyday health and wealth of the general public. #McClintockLetters blogs.cornell.edu/asap/events-...

Just returned back to land after an incredible expedition with Alex/Hannah/Enrico from lab - again in California Currents - joint with Ann Dekas lab. We tested a new carbon sequestration idea & mapped inhabitants of deep dark ocean & more. Filled with magical (read science) experiences. Thread soon.

Me when I see @prakashlab.bsky.social referenced in a Ze Frank True Facts episode