To help address this, researchers at the University of Houston (UH) have fashioned a lens designed to fit on almost any smartphone. It has the ability to magnify images up to 120 times their original size, and at an estimated production cost of just three cents per lens.

Attaching directly to a smartphone lens without the requirement of extra mounts or accessories, the researchers say the new lens is so easy to use that it is ideal for even younger students. It also has obvious medical uses, and could provide small or isolated clinics with the ability to share images with specialists located elsewhere.

Standard lenses are generally made by polishing glass or molding plastics to create a particular focal length and magnification. The UH lenses, however, are composed of a polymer known as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and are made by dropping this liquid onto a pre-warmed surface to cure.