The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease among young people globally continues to increase, prompting efforts to develop better understanding and treatment options for conditions like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. According to the British Society of Gastroenterology, more than half a million people in the UK live with IBD, with diagnoses most commonly occurring between the ages of 15 and 40.
Researchers at the Rosalind Franklin Institute at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire have deployed a specialized microscope designed to advance understanding of disease mechanisms. The instrument, nicknamed “Curie,” operates at 10 times the resolution of conventional light microscopy, achieving detail visibility down to 20nm in size. The microscope utilizes stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, a two-laser technique recognized with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014. The technology employs fluorescent tags on cellular features that absorb energy from one laser beam and emit light, while a second doughnut-shaped laser beam suppresses fluorescence in its outer ring, allowing detection only from the center, thereby producing exceptionally high-resolution images.
The microscope’s unique specifications include deformable mirrors that correct optical distortions caused by samples, enabling clear imaging from deeper within thick tissues and mini-organs. A temperature-controlled stage permits study of living cells and mini-organs under conditions approximating normal body temperature. PhD student Dimitrios Ioannidis is utilizing the equipment to examine how cells lining internal organs, particularly intestines, form protective barriers and how protein complex structures change from fetal development to adulthood.
The microscope announcement coincided with government funding commitments. Science Minister Chris McDonald unveiled £67m in funding for the Rosalind Franklin Institute over five years beginning in April 2027, alongside £95m for the Henry Royce Institute for materials research during the same period. Both grants derive from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council via UK Research and Innovation’s core budget established in the 2025 spending review. The funding announcement occurs amid challenging circumstances for UK science facilities, with the Science and Technology Facilities Council requiring £162m in savings by 2030 due to elevated energy costs, staffing expenses, expanded activities, and unfavorable foreign exchange movements.
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