Diamond to shine light on infections

The UK's national synchrotron facility - the Diamond Light Source near Oxford - is to become a world centre for studying the structure of viruses and bacteria that cause serious disease.

Diamond uses intense X-rays to reveal the molecular and atomic make-up of objects and materials.

It will now use this capability to image Containment Level 3 pathogens. These are responsible for illnesses such as Aids, hepatitis and some types of flu.

Level 3 is one step down from the most dangerous types of infectious agent, such as Ebola, which can only be handled in the most secure government facilities.

"Viruses, as you know, are sort of tiny nanomachines and you can't see them in a normal microscope.

"But with the crystallography and X-ray techniques we use, we are able to get about 10,000 times the resolution of the normal light microscope," explained Dave Stuart, the life sciences director at Diamond and a professor of structural biology at Oxford University.

The British synchrotron's new status makes it now one of only two such facilities in the world where Level 3 study is undertaken; the other being in the US.

This means it will be a major draw for scientists across the world. Prof Stuart stressed the operations at Diamond would pose no risk to others working on the Harwell site or in the immediate Oxfordshire area.

The pathogens will be brought to the synchrotron in crystal form in double-sealed containers that are not opened during their time at the facility.