Most powerful microscope in the UK unveiled

The most powerful atom resolving microscope in the UK was today revealed at the University of Cambridge. The new electron microscope, which will enable scientists to view individual atoms in any material, was officially unveiled by the Minister for Universities and Science, the Rt Hon David Willetts MP. The unique machine, the FEI Titan 3 Electron Microscope, enables scientists to view and analyse structures at a resolution of 0. Angstrom - less than one-half the size of a carbon atom and over a million times smaller than the width of a human hair. The microscope's impressive power will facilitate pioneering research previously restricted by scientists' inability to view and analyse structures at such a small scale. One of the research projects which will be using the new microscope is an investigation into diseases which can be characterised by the deposition of plaques, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. These plaques consist of rods as strong as steel called 'nanowires' which are made up of proteins that have misfolded.