Publications | Diamond News Autumn 2010

Diamond News

In This Issue

Editorial

As the UK government announces key decisions on science funding, researchers at Diamond are making important discoveries in fields spanning molecular biology and medicine, physical and materials science and engineering. In October, Diamond’s list of publications passed the milestone of 1,000 journal and conference papers. This total comprises work based on data collected at Diamond by users and research by Diamond scientists and engineers, as well as technical papers about advances in synchrotron science.

Much of this research is published in high-impact journals, and holds the potential to transform lives. For example, a team from Cambridge and Nottingham used our MX beamlines to solve the structure of angiotensinogen, the hormone that causes hypertension in pregnancy. This discovery, the culmination of a 20-year research project, made headlines in early October following publication in Nature, and opens the way for more effective life-saving treatments. This is just one example – the structures of hundreds of molecules and materials are now being elucidated at Diamond, and with advances in our beamline technology, the rate of discovery is accelerating.

The potential for scientific breakthroughs is also being enhanced as new Phase II facilities come on stream, including I12, the Joint Engineering, Environment and Processing (JEEP) beamline, which reveals the fine structure of large engineering samples, and B18, Diamond’s Core-EXAFS beamline. The ultra-long I13 X-Ray Imaging and Coherence and I10 Advanced Dichroism (BLADE) are both in an advanced stage of construction, preparing to offer users highly specialised synchrotron techniques. Looking further ahead, we are in the process of selecting the final beamline proposals for Phase III.

Now more than ever, it is vital that government and the wider public understand the importance of our work. Diamond’s contributions to industry were highlighted by science minister David Willetts in his keynote speech at the Royal Institution this summer. By supporting R&D in leading companies including Rolls Royce on aerospace and energy applications, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline on drug discovery and development, and Johnson Matthey on improved emissions control catalysts, Diamond was cited as a shining example of how a publicly funded science facility is working with the private sector to boost economic performance. Listen to some of our industrial user discuss their research in the podcast.

Our events programme continues to be busy with conferences, seminars and exhibitions. Following the successful user meeting in September, and feedback to our communications review, we have improved our web site with more links, science highlights, and the publications database, Annual Report and online edition of Diamond News. Projects now in the pipeline include new resources for education and public engagement and improved beamline information displays.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Diamond News and welcome all correspondence and feedback. Call Silvana Westbury on 01235 778238 or e-mail silvana.westbury@diamond.ac.uk