The UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has awarded $3 million to the University of Wales College of Medicine in Cardiff for the development of optical biochips. The project will involve reducing to microscale the optical tools of a life sciences laboratory to fit within a portable microchip, and it will include lasers the size of a single human cell. Samples, such as live cells, will be moved around the chip for processing and analysis. Besides opening up other research opportunities, this lab-on-a-chip may have the potential to help bring medical diagnosis and treatment to the field, home or clinic.