Back in 2022, @dhaelewa.bsky.social, Iva Njunjić (@taxonexpeditions.bsky.social), Warre van Caenegem and I went to the Synchrotron in Grenoble to image very small fossil beetles in very small pieces of amber. The resulting paper is now out! (With more to come) subtbiol.pensoft.net/article/1542...

It's a massive complex with a big particle accelerator, which takes a long time to get around - many people had little mopeds or bikes. Particle accelerators produce extremely bright, focused, and tunable X-ray beams, which can be used to "see through" objects and reconstruct the details inside.

Also, the synchrotron makes you look like the most sciency scientist ever. (Pictured: a guy who pretends he understands what all this machinery is for, exactly.)