--- title: Australia University Researchers Turn Smartphone into Microscope description: Australian researchers have turned a smartphone into a microscope. canonical: https://time.com/86342/researchers-turn-a-smartphone-into-a-microscope/ author: Bijan Stephen article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-02T20:54:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:09:22.512Z og:title: Researchers Turn a Smartphone into a Microscope og:description: Australian researchers have turned a smartphone into a microscope. og:url: https://time.com/86342/researchers-turn-a-smartphone-into-a-microscope/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Researchers Turn a Smartphone into a Microscope twitter:description: Australian researchers have turned a smartphone into a microscope. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # How Researchers Can Turn a Smartphone into a Microscope by [Bijan Stephen](/author/bijan-stephen/) ## Bijan Stephen May 2, 2014 8:54 PM CUT by [Bijan Stephen](/author/bijan-stephen/) ## Bijan Stephen May 2, 2014 8:54 PM CUT In science, serendipity is a [familiar narrative](http://gizmodo.com/5936349/9-scientific-breakthroughs-that-happened-by-accident "undefined"): Devoted scientist searches doggedly for the solution to a problem, and, in the process, discovers something entirely different and entirely more useful. This time, a team of Australian researchers [accidentally invented](http://www.opticsinfobase.org/boe/abstract.cfm?uri=boe-5-5-1626 "undefined") a new kind of optical lens while attempting to synthesize polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a silicone polymer that’s used as a head lice treatment, an anti-foaming agent, a fluid-delivery device in microfluidics, and as an ingredient in some fast food (e.g., [McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken%5FMcNuggets#Ingredients "undefined")). (Also, [Silly Putty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silly%5FPutty "undefined").) The study’s lead researcher, [Dr. Steve Lee](https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/lee-wm-w "undefined") of the Australian National University, noticed that spilled drops of PDMS hardened overnight into lens-like shapes. Lee mentioned as much to a doctor friend, who informed him of medicine’s need for cheap, high-quality lenses, [according to](http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2014/apr/30/new-lens-could-turn-your-phone-into-a-microscope "undefined") an article in PhysicsWorld.com, published by the Institute of Physics. From there, Lee and his team developed a simple, novel method to shape PDMS into usable lenses, which they describe in [_Biomedical Optics Express_](http://www.opticsinfobase.org/boe/abstract.cfm?uri=boe-5-5-1626 "undefined"). The resulting lenses are millimeters thick and magnify up to x160; to showcase their practicality, the researchers created a clip-on attachment that converts smartphones into dermatoscopes, devices employed in dermatology to diagnose skin cancers. The team built the attachment for around $2—dermatoscopes generally go for hundreds. Worldwide, approximately [one in five people own a smartphone](http://www.businessinsider.com/smartphone-and-tablet-penetration-2013-10 "undefined"); therefore, innovations that use them as a platform—like Dr. Lee’s lenses—can have a commensurately immense global impact, potentially saving lives in the process. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/86342/researchers-turn-a-smartphone-into-a-microscope/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/86342/researchers-turn-a-smartphone-into-a-microscope/"},"headline":"How Researchers Can Turn a Smartphone into a Microscope","datePublished":"2014-05-02T20:54:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:09:22.512Z","description":"Used with a smartphone, a new lens supposed to help detect skin cancers","url":"https://time.com/86342/researchers-turn-a-smartphone-into-a-microscope/","keywords":["Newsfeed","medicine","Science topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Bijan Stephen","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/bijan-stephen/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/86342/researchers-turn-a-smartphone-into-a-microscope/","name":"How Researchers Can Turn a Smartphone into a Microscope"}}]}] ```