A working sample of the microscope-on-a-chip placed next to a dime shows how small it actually is. The part that does most of the work is the square chip in the middle of the circuit board. Inset is an image of a worm (a wild-type C. elegans L1 larvae for the bio-nerds out there) taken by the microscope-on-a-chip.

Photo: Dave Bullock/Wired.com