Diamond to shine light on human cell structure
9 February 2007
This week marks the dawn of a new era of scientific endeavour as Diamond Light Source, the UK’s brand new synchrotron facility, welcomes its first scientific users. A synchrotron is a particle accelerator. It uses electrons to generate a powerful light to look at matter at a molecular and atomic scale.
The Diamond Light Source building in Oxford
The first research projects were selected from a total of 127 proposals received last year. Top academic teams from Oxford, Durham, Leicester and London will use the synchrotron to advance research in fields as wide ranging as structural biology, forensic science and agriculture.
Diamond’s first users include Professor Dave Stuart, head of the Medical Research Council Structural Biology unit at the University of Oxford. He will use the machine to help improve drug design. The project, funded by the MRC and Cancer Research UK, will provide knowledge to assist in the design of more effective drugs to combat cancer. Professor Stuart will use Diamond’s X-rays to visualise the structure of a protein molecule found on human cells.
Healthy cells use this protein molecule to guide them to their correct location in the body, but if incorrect amounts are present, the delicate balance of messages to the cell is upset and can lead to the development of cancer.
The biological function of molecules such as proteins is heavily dependent on their shape and structure. Knowing what a protein looks like can help scientists to understand how it works.
Professor Dave Stuart said:
“Studying how important molecules interact within the human body allows scientists to find out not only about the normal processes that keep us healthy, but also about what happens when these processes go wrong, leading to illness. This knowledge can then be used to find out how we might be able to put a molecular ‘spanner in the works’ to correct the fault and treat the disease.”
He continued:
‘‘Diamond is a landmark for UK science and this to beamlines for biology, provides the opportunity to keep UK structural biology at the forefront internationally over the next decade.’’
Other exciting projects include using Diamond’s X-rays to carry out detailed examinations of new sensors in computer components. These sensors ‘read’ magnetic information stored in the computers memory. It will also be used to analyse samples from a meteorite called Santa Catharina, to gain an insight into the history of the solar system.
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