Control of cell life-sustaining chemistry, so-called cellular metabolic activity, is a current target for pharmacological studies. For example, one line of research for developing novel cancer treatments is the possibility to manipulate cancer cells and interfere with their dramatic growing metabolism. To select and test new drug candidates, medical scientists need tools that allow them to quantify the effectiveness of such new molecules on cellular metabolism. Researchers have been able to achieve such information on living cells by using the Multimode InfraRed Imaging And Microspectroscopy (MIRIAM) beamline B22 at Diamond.

Researchers have used high-energy X-ray powder diffraction to investigate the fundamental science behind the transition of materials into high-temperature superconductors. Superconductivity is where a material obtains zero electrical resistance as it is cooled below a certain transition temperature (Tc). Superconducting magnets are used to make...

A collaboration including scientists from Diamond Light Source have helped to develop a new tool to investigate the liquid to glass transition – one of the lesser understood areas of condensed matter physics. The work formed part of a collaboration between the Advanced Photon Source (APS), USA, Diamond Light Source, and the Hamburger Synchrotronstrahlungslabor ‘HASYLAB’, based at DESY, Germany.

Lorraine Bobb is a Beam Diagnostics Physicist at Diamond, having arrived from CERN in June 2014. In the glamorous surroundings of the beam diagnostics lab located in the ring, Lorraine tests optical arrangements and equipment using visible light extracted from the storage ring. Find out more about Lorraine and her work here.