Researchers in Edinburgh have taken delivery of a £1.2m microscope capable of viewing structures just a few billionths of a metre in size.

The nanoscope, which can see objects 10 times smaller than those visible to the most advanced light microscopes, is said to be the only instrument of its kind north of the border.

It will be used to investigate cancer cell biology, human genetic problems and autoimmune diseases.

The microscope was unveiled by the Edinburgh Super-Resolution Imaging Consortium (ESRIC), a joint initiative between Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh.

Professor Wendy Bickmore, co-director of ESRIC, said: "The ability to visualise molecules in cells at such high spatial resolution, and the new capability to look at the relationship between different molecules simultaneously using different colours, provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the underlying molecular causes of human disease."

The team behind the project said they will make the system available to global researchers across a range of specialities to study scientific questions relating to health and medicine, geology, biophysics, bioengineering, mathematics and neurobiology.

Professor Rory Duncan, principal investigator and co-director of ESRIC, added: "While our previous system allowed researchers to visualise genes, cells or organisms in one colour and one dimension, it did not allow for the study of living dynamics.

"The addition of this new STED microscope will help scientists to observe movements in living cells as they happen - essential for understanding biological functions and applying these to our existing knowledge of the origins of many diseases."