Science Friday The Leap: A Scientist’s Quest To See Every Organism On Earth
Jun 9, 2025
Manu Prakash, a biologist, engineer, and professor at Stanford, embarks on an ambitious quest to map every organism on Earth with the help of innovative, low-cost microscopes. Alongside co-inventor Jim Cybulski, he shares insights on the Foldscope, a tool designed to make science accessible to all. They highlight the potential of democratizing scientific exploration and emphasize the importance of creativity in learning. With a passion for enabling curiosity, Manu aims to inspire a global community to engage in discovering the wonders of life.
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Ocean Exploration Sparks Wonder
- Manu Prakash explores ocean life firsthand, observing unique behaviors like diatoms hitching rides on others.
- This hands-on experience fuels his fascination with discovering new life forms every day.
Quest to See Every Organism
- Manu's grand quest is to map and see every organism on Earth, focusing on those one millimeter and smaller.
- He believes spending time with every tiny organism can provide profound understanding of life.
Creating Own Success Measures
- Manu struggled academically in a hyper-competitive Indian system, often distracted by creative projects like programming children's drawings.
- He defined his own success metrics driven by passion rather than grades or rankings.