Professor Jim Elliott of Queen Mary, University of London led the project. "As well as developing these microscopes to study subtle variations in internal structure, a main aim of ours is to work with the wider scientific community to identify problems where they could make a real contribution," he says. "There's no limit to what it would be useful or interesting to look at."

The microscope looks set to be a valuable research tool that many different organisations in a wide range of sectors could benefit from using. The team is currently planning to seek funding to support the development of a radical new design that could be even more effective.

Notes for Editors

The three and a half year research project "Support and Enhancement for X-Ray Microtomography Facility for Study of Bone, Tooth and Engineering Materials" received EPSRC funding of just over 154,000.

The project involved experts in electronic engineering, physics, biophysics, chemistry, anatomy, materials science, dentistry, veterinary medicine and engineering from:

• Queen Mary, University of London
• Cranfield University
• Imperial College London
• The Royal Veterinary College
• The University of Manchester
• The University of Southampton

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