£60m new home for the scientists who brought us Dolly the sheep

GLOBAL challenges such as food shortages and the spread of diseases will be targeted by a new £60 million research unit.

Researchers from the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh will take up residence in the purpose-built centre, which was opened yesterday.

A total of 500 scientists will work in the building, which Roslin staff will share with the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC).

Research at the university's Easter Bush Campus, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, will focus on improving the health and welfare of livestock.

The scientists' expertise covers areas such as immunology and infectious disease, clinical sciences, genetics, developmental biology and diseases affecting the nervous system.

The institute won international fame in 1996, when its scientists created Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell.

Working alongside the SAC, scientists at the new institute hope that a strong emphasis on comparative medicine will allow research to be used to improve both animal and human health.

One area of focus will be diseases that have recently had a global impact, such as bird flu. The centre replaces the institute's former home in the nearby Midlothian village of Roslin, where the pioneering sheep cloning work was carried out

Roslin Institute director Professor David Hume said: "The new building is designed to maximise co-operation among our experts. Our new home will help us tackle complex problems ranging from fertility and reproduction through the threats of diseases such as avian flu and tuberculosis, to animal welfare and greenhouse gas emissions. We now have an iconic building that is instantly recognisable."

The distinctive design of the institute's new base was inspired by the shape of a pair of chromosomes, a reference to its work on genetics, with a rainbow progression of panels that link offices with research laboratories.

The three-storey building has received an award from Architecture Scotland and has been nominated for a number of other building and design awards.

At the opening ceremony yesterday, First Minister Alex Salmond said the new centre offered the institute an "opportunity for further advances". He said: "The new Roslin Institute building provides not only a fantastic home for the 500 scientists who will work here, but also a centre of research that will deliver impact for the lives of people in the scientific community and for the wider society."The experts based here will be able to deliver top-class research on livestock health and productivity - work which will prove valuable both for animal and human health, with particular emphasis on the kind of comparative medicine that benefits both. I am confident they will deliver new knowledge and generate new strength in the Scottish economy."

The opening of the centre has helped cement the capital's place in global scientific medical research. The nearby Edinburgh BioQuarter, intended to be Scotland's flagship sciences project, is under development with two laboratory suites expected to be open by the end of this year.

Key funding for the Roslin Institute building came from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Its chief executive, Professor Douglas Kell, said: "This new building will house world-class science that tackles some of the most important challenges we face.

"These facilities will enable scientists to do research that supports and enhances health, food security, and social and economic wellbeing."