River blindness, or onchocerciasis, is a disease caused by a parasitic worm found primarily in Africa. The worm (Onchocerca volvulus) is transmitted to humans as immature larvae through bites of ...

Smartphones aren't simply an amazing convenience. In Africa they can be used to make a lifesaving diagnosis. In fact, scientists are hoping to use a souped-up smartphone microscope to help them ...

The Berkeley researchers figured out that they could quickly determine who has the Loa loa worm using a smartphone, customized to work like a microscope. They could then skip the medication for those ...

Customized iPhones are just one example of devices that can be used to combat health threats in developing countries. They are helping scientists in California and Cameroon attack the parasite that ...

Berkeley -- A research team led by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, has developed a new mobile phone microscope that uses video to automatically detect and quantify infection by ...

On the second floor of an infectious-disease research facility in this African capital, Dr. Joseph Kamgno, the country’s leading expert on parasitic roundworms, stood at his desk staring down at the ...

If you live in Africa, parasitic worms and mosquitos are some of your worst enemies. Together, they infect millions of people, causing horrible diseases like river blindness or conditions like ...

A medical journal published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention featured a striking cover image this month: a painting of a human eye covered with long, undulating worms. The work ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Prick a finger and have the blood checked for parasites — by smartphone? Scientists are turning those ubiquitous phones into microscopes and other medical tools that could help fight ...