SCIENTISTS are using new technology to help them take a closer look at the natural world.

Equipment worth £600,000 was delivered last week to the Arthur Holmes laboratory at the University of Durham.

The two mass spectrometers, which weigh up to one ton, were lifted through a two-storey window in the Department of Geological Sciences.

They machines will be used to measure isotope components, described by Professor Jon Davidson as "the DNA of the natural world".

He said: "They can be used to track all kinds of natural processes and for dating materials.

"We have been using isotopes to date rocks and minerals for a long time now, but the new equipment takes that to the next level."

The spectrometers will be used in a project run with Newcastle University Medical School to investigate anti-cancer drugs containing platinum.

Other planned research programmes include dating diamonds and examining the migratory habits of fish by analysing the growth in their ear bones.

The laboratory also hopes to work with local businesses and industry.

Prof Davidson said: "This equipment is incredibly versatile and there are probably hundreds of applications we have not yet thought of."