Smartphone cameras are getting more advanced all the time, but now a DIY fan has revealed how crafty iPhone owners can make a microscope for their handset for under $10.

Using a block of wood, some plexiglass and the lens from a laser pointer, a video shows how users can make a microscope with 175x magnification for an iPhone.Once the project is completed, the smartphone can be used to take photos of things as small as the nuclei of plant cells as well as for macro photography projects.

According to crafting website Instructables, the DIY microscope can be made in just 20 minutes and costs under $10, excluding the price of the smartphone.

The lens for the microscope comes from a cheap laser pointer and the website explains how it can be freed from its casing and placed in the correct way against the camera lens of the iPhone using a hairpin.

It is this lens that creates the larger field of view and can itself be used to take macro shots.

The assembly of the rig requires basic DIY skills, including the use of a drill, as well as a few nuts and bolts.A hole must be drilled in the camera stage just large enough for the lens to sit in and it is vital it is as close as possible to the camera.

To read the complete article, see:The DIY smartphone MICROSCOPE: Turn your mobile into a piece of expert kit using a block of wood and a laser pointer(www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2470246/DIY-smartphone-MICROSCOPE-Turn-mobile-expert-kit.html)