SAY the word coral and you immediately picture a tropical reef in a turquoise sea filled with exotic fish.

What is not so well known is that within these living organisms is a natural substance that is helping in the pioneering research into diseases including cancer.

Leading the way in discovering more about the potential of corals and anemones in medical research is a study at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton.

The research project, headed up by Professor Jörg Wiedenmann, has been awarded more than £1m by the European Research Council to continue and expand its vital work.

Alongside investigating the medical benefits of the coral, the grant will also enable more extensive studies under laboratory conditions that will help scientists understand how corals are able to survive in different conditions across the world.

A key part of Prof Wiedenmann’s work is a new coral laboratory. This is a purpose built aquarium that combines display, research and teaching. A remarkable feature of the tank is the ability to demonstrate the fluorescing nature of the corals and anemones on display by exposing the corals to different lights.

It is this fluorescing pigment, which occurs naturally in corals and anemones as a screen against the harmful effects of the sun, that is at the heart of the research.

As a naturally produced substance it is able to be used in bio-medical research as marker dyes to track how, for example, tumours react to different treatments.

The new coral laboratory will be able to further this research alongside examining how and why corals react to changes in their environment.

The grant also means extra staff have been taken on to help with the pioneering studies.

The work carried out in Southampton is regarded as among the best in the world. The city’s scientists are leading the way in performing experiments under laboratory conditions that could not be done in the natural world.

Prof Wiedenmann said: “The study of corals and life on a coral reef is very important for many reasons.

Not only are they relied upon as a food source for many places around the world as they sustain fishing communities and also provide coastal protection, we have also been able to use their properties to open pathways into bio-medicine.”

In the dedicated labs in the centre, scientists have been able to cultivate corals under different conditions, replicating conditions in seas and oceans across the world in a bid to understand the impact of things like climate change and the effects of pollution.