Exploring the potential of neutron imaging for life sciences on IMAT.

Neutron imaging has been employed in life sciences in recent years and has proven to be a viable technique for studying internal features without compromising integrity and internal structure of samples in addition to being complementary to other methods such as X-ray or magnetic resonance imaging. Within the last decade, a neutron imaging beamline, IMAT, was designed and built at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, UK, to meet the increasing demand for neutron imaging applications in various fields spanning from materials engineering to biology. In this paper, we present the first neutron imaging experiments on different biological samples during the scientific commissioning of the IMAT beamline mainly intended to explore the beamline's capabilities and its potential as a noninvasive investigation tool in fields such as agriculture (soil-plants systems), palaeontology and dentistry. LAY DESCRIPTION: Neutrons form a highly penetrating radiation passing through matter without damaging or structurally modifying it, a property that makes them the ideal tool for many kinds of complementary material investigations. Moreover, the strong interaction of neutrons with hydrogen and their ability to distinguish between hydrogen and deuterium with no radiation damage make neutrons a good probe for imaging biological specimens. The recent technological developments of sources and detectors improved the capabilities of neutron imaging instruments and also have facilitated the use of neutron imaging on a much wider scale than before. Neutron imaging is proving its advantages as being complementary to other known methods of investigation such as X-ray imaging or magnetic resonance imaging and it is no surprise that it is not only employed in engineering or archaeology, but also in life sciences. This definitely opens new perspectives for a more interdisciplinary approach in contemporary science. Within the last decade a neutron imaging beamline, IMAT, was designed and built at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, UK, to meet the increasing demands of researchers from different fields, spanning from materials engineering to biology. The results presented here, acquired from first measurements on different biological samples during the scientific commissioning of IMAT beamline show the instrument capability and its suitability to palaeontology, agriculture (soil-plants systems) or dentistry applications.

New Insights into the Bio-Chemical Changes in Wheat Induced by Cd and Drought: What Can We Learn on Cd Stress Using Neutron Imaging?

Cadmium (Cd) and drought stresses are becoming dominant in a changing climate. This study explored the impact of Cd and Cd + drought stress on durum wheat grown in soil and sand at two Cd levels. The physiological parameters were studied using classical methods, while the root architecture was explored using non-invasive neutron computed tomography (NCT) for the first time. Under Cd + drought, all the gas exchange parameters were significantly affected, especially at 120 mg/kg Cd + drought. Elevated Cd was found in the sand-grown roots. We innovatively show the Cd stress impact on the wheat root volume and architecture, and the water distribution in the "root-growing media" was successfully visualized using NCT. Diverse and varying root architectures were observed for soil and sand under the Cd stress compared to the non-stress conditions, as revealed using NCT. The intrinsic structure of the growing medium was responsible for a variation in the water distribution pattern. This study demonstrated a pilot approach to use NCT for quantitative and in situ mapping of Cd stress on wheat roots and visualized the water dynamics in the rhizosphere. The physiological and NCT data provide valuable information to relate further to genetic information for the identification of Cd-resilient wheat varieties in the changing climate.

Skeletal anatomy of the early Permian parareptile Delorhynchus with new information provided by neutron tomography.

Detailed description of the holotype skeleton of Delorhynchus cifellii, made possible through the use of neutron tomography, has yielded important new information about the cranial and postcranial anatomy of this early Permian acleistorhinid parareptile. Hitherto unknown features of the skull include a sphenethmoid, paired epipterygoids and a complete neurocranium. In addition, the stapes has been exposed in three dimensions for the first time in an early parareptile. Postcranial material found in articulation with the skull in this holotype allows for the first detailed description of vertebrae, ribs, shoulder girdle and humerus of an acleistorhinid parareptile, allowing for a reevaluation of the phylogenetic relationships of this taxon with other acleistorhinids, and more broadly among parareptiles. Results show that Delorhynchus is recovered as the sister taxon of Colobomycter, and 'acleistorhinids' now include Lanthanosuchus.