University scientists in black hole hunt

A team is heading for Africa to help set up one of the world's most advanced telescope arrays.

The High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) will be based in Namibia and search for gamma rays - found close to black holes.

The scientists will also be looking at how gamma radiation affects the human body.

The team, headed by Dr Paula Chadwick, is part of a project group from eight countries, including Ireland, France and Germany.

Dr Chadwick, senior lecturer in physics at Durham, said: "These will be the biggest telescopes of their kind in the world.

"The first one has just been built and there will eventually be four - each 12 metres in diameter.

"We're looking to detect gamma rays and cosmic rays from very fast moving objects in space.

"Every day millions of cosmic particles pass through our bodies and we don't know where they come from."

Dr Chadwick says as well as being a pointer towards black holes, the detection of cosmic rays can also help unravel the mysteries of evolution on earth.

She added: "These rays have played an important role in the history of the planet, because the sort of mutations that produce evolution are created in part by cosmic rays."