New Insights to Parkinson's

Synchrotron radiation -- the intense light radiated by an electric charge following a curved trajectory -- can be used to probe the structure of biological molecules in great detail. Joanna Collingwood, research fellow at the Research Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, Keele University, UK, combines synchrotron imaging with magnetic resonance imaging to diagnose Parkinson's disease before substantial cell loss. In a new study, she uses MRI scans to reveal darkened areas in brain regions associated with Parkinson's, then uses synchrotron radiation to verify that the regions contain neurotoxic particles of iron.

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Science & Technology

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• science
• interviews
• scientists
• synchotrons
• radiation
• Parkinson's
• diseases
• molecular biology
• structure
• MRI