Society Hugely Grateful for Donations from Refunded emc2020 Booking Fees


The RMS has voiced its thanks to the many exhibitors who gave fi nancial support to the Society following the cancellation of emc2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.


The Society was proud to have been chosen as Professional Conference Organiser for the event, due to be held in Copenhagen on 23-28 August, when the Danish Government made the decision in April that no event with more than 500 attendees could be held until 1 September 2020.


RMS Chief Executive Allison Winton said: “We had all been so much looking forward to emc2020 and its cancellation was a huge


blow for the RMS, Professor Klaus Qvortrup and the organising committees, our organising partners SCANDEM and the EMS, and everyone else involved in planning the event. Of course, the safety of our members, exhibitors and visitors must always be our highest priority, but we know how disappointing this has been for everyone who had been hoping to attend.


“Inevitably, there are fi nancial losses associated with the late cancellation of any big event, and as a charity, we obviously have limited capacity to absorb such impacts. The generosity of exhibitors in donating a proportion of their booking fee – or in some


cases, requesting to be invoiced for sponsorship - has been a huge help in offsetting our losses, and their support will help the RMS to continue to serve the international microscopy community in the coming months and years. It is hard to overstate how grateful we are to everyone who has supported the RMS in this way.”


The RMS has included a list of exhibitors who made donations on its website, visit www.rhs.org.uk


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3D Images Created Through Time


They used a simple, single-point detector to record how long it takes photons produced by split-second fl ash of a pulse of laser light to bounce off each object in any given scene and reach the sensor. The information, or temporal data – was converted into a 3D image with the help of a sophisticated neural network algorithm. The researchers ‘trained’ the algorithm by showing it thousands of different conventional photos of the team moving and carrying objects around the lab, alongside temporal data captured by the single-point detector at the same time.


Eventually, the network had learned enough about how the temporal data corresponded with the photos that it was capable of creating highly accurate images from the temporal data alone.


Alex Turpin


Researchers based in the UK, Italy and the Netherlands have created animated 3D images, by capturing temporal information about photons instead of their spatial coordinates.


Dr Alex Turpin, Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Fellow in Data Science at the University of Glasgow’s School of Computing Science, led the University’s research team together with Prof. Daniele Faccio, with support from colleagues at the Polytechnic University of Milan and Delft University of Technology.


Dr Turpin said: “What we’ve managed to do is fi nd a new way to turn one-dimensional data – a simple measurement of time – into a moving image which represents the three dimensions of space in any given scene.


“The most important way that differs from conventional image- making is that our approach is capable of decoupling light altogether from the process.” The team also managed to use radar waves for the same purpose.


“We’re confi dent that the method can be adapted to any system which is capable of probing a scene with short pulses and precisely measuring the return ‘echo’. This is really just the start of a whole new way of visualising the world using time instead of light.”


“We’re very excited about the potential of the system we’ve developed, and we’re looking forward to continuing to explore its potential. Our next step is to work on a self-contained, portable system-in-a-box and we’re keen to start examining our options for furthering our research with input from commercial partners.”


The team’s paper, titled ‘Spatial images from temporal data’, is published in Optica. The research was funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (ESPRC) and Amazon.


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CryoEM Facilities Link East to West


Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) specialist Nanoimaging Services has opened a facility in Boston to support its growing customer base on the east coast requiring cryoEM for drug discovery and vaccine development; currently COVID-19 projects are receiving priority consideration.


“For more than a decade, we’ve applied our scientifi c leadership and focus to drive the substantial expansion of our state-of-the-art facilities as part of our goal to become the largest industrial cryoEM facility in the world. Our Boston facility enables us to build on our commitment to advancing cryoEM technology and its access for our clients to improve and accelerate drug design and development,” said Clint Potter, Founder and CEO of NanoImaging Services. “By enabling local sample preparation and screening, NanoImaging Services has eliminated one of the biggest obstacles for cryoEM


researchers – shipping sensitive proteins and removing the freeze/ thaw step. Local sample preparation coupled with fast turnaround screening services, allows researchers to progress their projects more quickly and with greater success in a cost-effi cient manner.”


The new facility, which will help users both learn cryoEM techniques and develop their own cryoEM workfl ows, will house up to three Thermo Scientifi c Glacios Cryo-TEM microscopes and equipment to support local sample screening, preparation and analysis. The fi rst Glacios instrument has been commissioned and is currently accepting client samples.


In addition, a new high-speed dedicated network facility in the west, connecting directly to its nearby San Diego headquarters was also announced by the company, which has expectations that


it will become the largest private facility for cryoEM data collection globally, serving both its national and international clients.


This facility will host up to four Thermo Scientifi c Krios Cryo-TEM and a Glacios Cryo-TEM microscope; it connects directly to the San Diego headquarters and Boston client center, so users can work directly with the NIS microscopists and view images in real-time with the company’s remote image viewer. The fi rst Krios at the new facility is operational and heavily booked through the end of 2020. A new formal agreement between NIS and Thermo Scientifi c will allow the company to add more capacity with minimal lead time.


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University Spinout Named on Competition Watchlist


ChromaTwist, based at Birmingham Research Park, was named one of 32 university spinout companies identifi ed as ones to watch in The Spinoff Prize 2020, organised by Nature Research and German science and technology company Merck KGaA.


A leader in large Stokes Shift fl uorescent materials which are used in microscopy and imaging work, ChromaTwist was founded in December 2018 by University of Birmingham researchers Professor Jon Preece, of the School of Chemistry and Dr Alex Robinson, of the School of Chemical Engineering, with entrepreneur Mark Shepherd, after they and their PhD students discovered a new class of fl uorescent materials, which can be utilised in bioimaging applications. The company’s modular patented technology platform


and know-how allows rapid material development based on application requirements. Its materials are naturally suited for use in the biological and medical fi eld, however, due to the adaptable nature of the chemistry there are numerous other possible applications.


ChromaTwist CEO Professor Jon Preece, of the University of Birmingham’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, said: “We are delighted to be recognised in this prestigious awards scheme. It is an important milestone in the company’s development which was born from our research discovering new materials back in 2013.


“It has been an amazing journey so far, in such a short time, and I


would like to thank staff from across the University who have helped us on our way; in particular the University of Birmingham Enterprise team who helped us with our fi rst patent fi lings and guided us through the funding process to win our fi rst investment back in 2018, as well as individuals across the University who have been invaluable as advisors and collaborators on the biological aspects of using the fl uorophores as bio-imaging agents.”


Jon, Alex and Mark have also previously worked together at another University of Birmingham spinout company Irresistible Materials, which develops products used in semiconductor manufacturing.


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