Novel Microscope Aims to Uncover Origins of Incurable Bowel Diseases

A groundbreaking new microscope offers hope for understanding and treating debilitating, incurable bowel conditions, which are increasingly affecting young people globally.

Over half a million individuals in the UK live with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), primarily Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, according to the British Society of Gastroenterology.

Although IBD can manifest at any age, it is most frequently diagnosed between 15 and 40, significantly impacting critical periods of education, career, and personal relationships.

A newly installed instrument could provide a breakthrough for those affected by IBD.

“This microscope technology and our lab science aim to better understand the mechanisms of IBD,” said Dr. Karina Pombo-Garcia, group leader at the Rosalind Franklin Institute at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, where the microscope is housed.

“While treatments exist for IBD and other diseases, they may not be optimal or sufficiently targeted because we lack a fundamental understanding of the diseases themselves,” she added.

Housed in a black casing with grey hoses and wires, the microscope is remarkably unobtrusive.

Despite its modest appearance, this is no ordinary instrument; it operates at 10 times the resolution of conventional light microscopy, revealing details as small as 20 nanometers.

Dubbed “Curie,” the microscope employs a two-laser technique known as stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, which earned its inventors the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Features of interest within cells are labeled with fluorescent tags that absorb energy from the first laser beam and emit light.

A second, doughnut-shaped laser beam overlaps with the first, switching off fluorescence in its outer ring so that only the center emits detectable light—a very small region.

“This allows the microscope to distinguish structures much closer together than a conventional fluorescence microscope, producing exceptionally high-resolution images,” said Pombo-Garcia.

The microscope includes additional features making it unique in the UK, such as deformable mirrors that correct optical distortions caused by the sample.

“This enables researchers to obtain clear images from deeper within thick tissues and mini-organs,” she said. “It also features a temperature-controlled stage, allowing living cells and mini-organs to be studied near normal body temperature.”

PhD student Dimitrios Ioannidis is using the microscope to study how cells lining internal organs, including the intestines, form protective barriers.

“We hypothesize that specific protein complexes might change over time,” he said, noting that the equipment allows them to visualize these complexes beyond conventional microscope limits. “We are examining how the structure of these complexes changes from foetal development to adulthood. If the structure changes, so does the function.”

By comparing healthy tissue with diseased tissue, researchers can identify what has gone wrong, potentially uncovering the root cause of conditions like IBD, Ioannidis noted.

The microscope was unveiled by science minister Chris McDonald alongside announcements of £67m in funding for the Rosalind Franklin Institute over the next five years from April 2027, and £90m for the Henry Royce Institute, both from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council via UKRI’s 2025 spending review.

The announcement comes amid challenging times for UK science facilities. Earlier this year, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) revealed it needs to make £162m in savings by 2030 due to soaring energy costs, staffing expenses, an expanded portfolio, and unfavorable currency movements.

Some national facilities face a 15% funding drop, raising concerns. The Diamond Light Source, Central Laser Facility, and ISIS Neutron and Muon Source—all on the same campus as the Rosalind Franklin Institute—are jointly affected.

However, McDonald insisted such facilities still receive high funding levels, stressing that not every STFC project will be funded indefinitely.

“I’m not particularly happy about the characterization of cuts because that’s not the case at the high-level budget,” he said. “But it is right that STFC live within their means and prioritize their own budget,” he added.

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