Smartphones are changing the way people communicate. Now scientists further enhance their applicability in unexpected directions - diagnosis of intestinal parasites.
 
It turns out that using a glass lens, costing $ 8, tape and cheap flashlight, iPhone 4 can be converted into a microscope detecting intestinal parasites according to the World Health Organization affects two billion people.

The scientists have published their results in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. In the article they describe the analysis of 199 fecal samples using a "tuned" smartphone.
 
Along with the standard light microscope, researchers analyzing and using the "iPhone microscope." The latter turns out to be less sensitive, but much more practical and portable. Scientists believe that it has great potential, especially in poor and remote areas where it is concentrated the bulk of morbidity.

The World Health Organization warned that intestinal parasites affecting mostly in economically depressed areas where they contribute substantially to malnutrition in large populations. Most at risk are children who often develop anemia.
 
Feasibility of smartphones to diagnose intestinal parasitic appears dependent on the type of pathogen and the degree of infestation. For example, using the smartphone to detect 81% of cases of threadworm, but only 14% of cases of small parasitic nematodes, snap on to the intestine with hooks. Scientists say this is due to the different number of eggs that emit various types of environmental faeces.

High-tech gadget successfully diagnosed moderate to severe infestations, but performs poorly in passenger where the sample contains only a few eggs.

Dr. Isaac Bogoch, a specialist in infectious diseases at Toronto General Hospital, and his team are trying to create an alternative test tool by gluing 3-millimeter lens to the iPhone 4S, which scientists routinely use in their daily lives. Bogoch points out, however, that any camera phone with optical zoom can be used for this purpose. As a light source they use less flashlight, working with only one battery. The entire "unit" cost less than $ 15, without of course the price of the phone itself, and can be assembled in less than 5 minutes.

According to team efficiency by 80% for diagnostic tests would make this device practicable. Dr. Bogoch predicted that it can be applied in a work under a limited budget. Furthermore, the team continues to improve device using cheap available materials.

For the first time scientists have deciphered the DNA of flat worms, which may reveal new therapeutic targets for future drugs. The genome is a new resource and the path to faster development of new drugs are urgently needed - flat worms cause two of the seventeen "neglected" tropical diseases listed by the World Health Organization - echinococcosis and cysticercosis.

The research team determined the DNA sequence of the four types of tapeworms to better study the biology and genetics of intestinal parasites. In most species, adults cause few complaints while in the intestines. The larvae, however, can cause serious medical complications in moving their body. They form cysts in the bodies of humans and animals, which can lead to complications such as blindness or epilepsy.

According to Dr. Matthew Beriman of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, parasitosis of flat worms are widespread. Their global burden is comparable to that of multiple sclerosis and melanoma.

Typically, the researchers analyzed the DNA of pathogens and compare it with that of man, and thus identify potential targets for future drugs. In this study, however, researchers are mainly interested in the similarities in the DNA of human intestinal parasites. This is because unlike most pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, flat worms are eukaryotic organisms like humans. Flatworms much more like a human structure and physiology of any bacteria or virus.

Furthermore, by analyzing the similarities between the genomes, researchers discovered which of already existing drugs might be effective against parasites. This can save hundreds of decades of work and millions of dollars in investments.

It turns out that some tapeworms are sensitive to the drugs currently used to treat cancer. Another potential solution is cholesterol lowering medication. In the course of evolution, flat worms have lost the ability to synthesize their own cholesterol, which obtain at the expense of the host. Promising target for new drugs are proteins, through which the larvae absorb cholesterol from the intestine. If the function of these proteins has been crossed, the larvae will stop development and will die.