Mini microscope developed

In the drive to miniaturise laboratory tools, to create a so-called lab on a chip, the conventional light microscope has been a stumbling block. Microscopes require lenses and, above all, space to focus and magnify images, says The New York Times.

Changhuei Yang and colleagues at the California Institute of Technology have developed a different approach, one that eliminates the need for lenses and space.

In their device, called an optofluidic microscope, a specimen passes directly over a digital imaging chip that is masked by a metal film with a micron-size hole over each pixel. By arranging the holes in a certain way and illuminating the specimen as it flows at a constant rate over the chip, a high-resolution image can be obtained.

Adobe on Tuesday said it is now shipping Photoshop Lightroom 2, a set of software tools that allow photographers to edit and manage digital images, says Information Week.

The product is Adobe's first 64-bit application for the Mac and Windows Vista operating systems.

A significant upgrade over the previous version, Lightroom 2 features a number of new enhancements, including dual-monitor support, streamlined search capabilities and localised image correction.

Nintendo has revealed that it will unveil a channel for Wii called the Digital Print Channel, which will allow users to send photos to Fuji for printing and have them delivered directly to their door, says CVG.

Unfortunately Nintendo will only handle the transfer of photos to Fuji, so you cannot use Wii Points to pay for the photos and the delivery arrangements are handled by Fuji.

The service will launch first in Japan but will be eventually rolled out globally.