Inflammatory bowel disease, primarily manifested as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, affects more than half a million people in the UK according to the British Society of Gastroenterology. The condition typically emerges between the ages of 15 and 40, significantly impacting individuals during formative years for education, employment and personal relationships. Despite existing treatments, medical experts acknowledge that current interventions may not represent optimal or sufficiently targeted approaches due to incomplete understanding of the disease’s underlying mechanisms.
Researchers at the Rosalind Franklin Institute at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire have introduced a specialized microscope nicknamed “Curie” to advance disease investigation. The equipment operates at 10 times the resolution of conventional light microscopy, enabling visualization of structures as small as 20 nanometers. The device employs stimulated emission depletion microscopy, a two-laser technique recognized with a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014, which uses fluorescent labeling and a doughnut-shaped laser beam to isolate very small cellular regions for imaging.
The microscope incorporates distinctive features not found elsewhere in the UK, including deformable mirrors that correct optical distortions and a temperature-controlled stage permitting study of living cells and mini-organs at near-body temperature. PhD student Dimitrios Ioannidis is utilizing the technology to investigate how cells lining internal organs, particularly intestines, form protective barriers through specific protein complexes. By comparing healthy tissue structures with those from individuals with disease, researchers aim to identify fundamental disease mechanisms and potential root causes.
The microscope unveiling coincided with announcements of £67 million in funding for the Rosalind Franklin Institute over the next five years beginning April 2027, and £95 million for the Henry Royce Institute focused on materials research. Both grants derive from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council via UK Research and Innovation. The funding announcement arrives amid financial pressures on UK science facilities, with the Science and Technology Facilities Council facing £162 million in required savings by 2030 due to energy costs, staffing expenses and currency fluctuations.
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