How to save 51 billion lives for 68 cents with simple Engineering
From Mark Rober
8 min5th6thScienceHealth
Summary
Mark shows two ultra-cheap inventions — a paper microscope and a paper spinning centrifuge — that bring real medical testing to places without labs. Simple engineering with a huge human impact.
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Ages 7+
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
Fancy lab gear is expensive. These paper tools do the same key jobs for pennies, so clinics without power or money can still test for disease — engineering that saves lives.
- What problem do the paper microscope and paper centrifuge solve?
- Why does making them cost only pennies matter so much?
- How is designing for very low cost its own engineering challenge?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: engineering, low-cost, microscope, health.
Try it: Think of a school tool that's expensive. Brainstorm a cheaper version that still does the main job.