In the not-so-distant future, there will be a new kind of microscope on the market. One that can easily fit in a backpack or purse and zoom in up to 1,000 times, making it possible for pretty much ...

Approximately 145 million: That's the number of specimens—including plants, animals, minerals, and human artifacts—curators estimate are held in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

The new type of microscope makes light travel in a circle. That way it can interact multiple times with the sample. Everyone who ever took a photo knows the problem: if you want a detailed image, you ...