Prakash Lab at Stanford

The suspensions landed perhaps most heavily in math. NSF suspended a $25 million grant for the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM), an international center at UCLA that hosts about 2000 visiting researchers every year for workshops and other programs. One of its stars, Terence Tao, a Fields Medal winner frequently named as one of the greatest living mathematicians, also had his only NSF grant suspended. The $750,000 award was in its first year and supported Tao’s own research and a handful of graduate students in developing tools to tell whether a set of numbers is structured or random. Tao says he now cannot offer research assistant opportunities during the academic year, and he calls the cuts to IPAM “quite disastrous.”

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. 🌊

PlanktoScope Open and frugal modular imaging platform for citizen oceanography

The above dataset is from our open source tool - www.planktoscope.org anyone can build it, instructions on the site above.

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.

YouTube video by Pajau Vangay On a boat with Manu Prakash for The Leap

"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

I said 1 mm and below 😀

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

How Paradoxical Questions and Simple Wonder Lead to Great Science | Quanta Magazine Manu Prakash works on the world’s most urgent problems and seemingly frivolous questions at the same time. They add up to a philosophy he calls “recreational biology.”

"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...

Manu Prakash, a bearded man in plaid and a bioengineer, leans against a wall outside

Manu Prakash, a bearded man, holds a paper-made microscope

"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...

Nature Computes Better: ARIA opportunity seed Creators Kirsty, Manu and David Nature Computes Better opportunity seed Creators Kirsty Wan, Manu Prakash and David Jordan speak at the ARIA Summit. Captions are automatically generated.

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.

How Paradoxical Questions and Simple Wonder Lead to Great Science | Quanta Magazine Manu Prakash works on the world’s most urgent problems and seemingly frivolous questions at the same time. They add up to a philosophy he calls “recreational biology.”

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...

Biologists @ 100: Celebrating a century of supporting biologists and inspiring biology - FocalPlane Biologists @ 100: Celebrating a century of supporting biologists and inspiring biology -

#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.

Microscopy with microfluidics in microgravity using FlightScope - npj Microgravity npj Microgravity - Microscopy with microfluidics in microgravity using FlightScope

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