The E. Coli Cure

Well, it's not so much a cure, but a new portable microscope designed by engineers at University of California, Los Angeles has been able to detect low levels E. coli in liquids and solids - not an easy feat. "It's a very challenging task to detect E. coli in low concentrations in water and food. This microscope could be part of a solution for field investigation," said Professor Aydogan Ozcan, one of the microscopes inventors from UCLA.

The microscope, which costs only around $100 to produce, is so cheap and lightweight, that scientists are hoping to use it in countries with less sophisticated technology. Professor Ozcan believes that "[w]ith just a small amount of training, doctors could use devices like these to improve healthcare in remote areas of the world with little access to diagnostic equipment."

This brand new technology could be extremely valuable in both the domestic and foreign health care markets. Because it is so inexpensive, it could be mass-produced, thereby creating a wider and more sophisticated health care system, spanning the whole globe. A cheaper, more widespread health care system? Uh, yes please. In addition, the portable technology would make it much easier to determine water and food safety in developing countries. Is that not what we've been striving to do in third world countries for years now? This microscope could be just the beginning; with all the new technology being created daily by inventors and entrepreneurs, the possibilities are nearly endless. Who knows, maybe one day the healthcare will be as commonplace as salt.