news 2017

The past 12 months have provided many eye-grabbing headlines from the Imperial community from world-leading research to incredible inventions. Before 2018 is upon us with its own wave of news, we take a quick look back at the most popular articles on our award-winning news site (ranked by the number of page views).

Harvesting energy from our movements and a method for determining the composition of cement were two of the most widely downloaded papers in 2017. Spiral - Imperial College London's open access repository - allows academics to make journal articles and other research outputs open access, meeting the requirements of the post-2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF).

Some surprise research headlines need a second look, but quirky studies can often reveal serious science. From a geological Brexit to jellyfish computers, some research announcements are more than a little bit quirky. However, look beyond the headline and you'll find fascinating research with powerful real world applications.

Robotic prosthetics, AI guessing your brain age and much, much more. It's been quite a year for research, so here's just a few of the top stories. At times this year it may have seemed like science took a back seat, with politics bullying its way to the forefront and Brexit shoehorned into every headline to contend with.

A new marker that could be used to diagnose fatal breast cancer up to one year ahead of current methods has been identified in a study led by UCL. The study, published in Genome Medicine today, found that changes detected in a part of DNA which the researches named EFC#93 could suggest early signs of deadly breast cancer.

Chemotherapy for one type of leukaemia could be improved by giving patients a drug currently used to treat an unrelated condition, new research shows. Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is an aggressive cancer that stops healthy blood cell production. Chemotherapy is the standard treatment, but improvements are needed as the five-year survival rate in patients older than 60 is only 5-15 per cent.

Veterinary researchers at the University of Nottingham have produced a new tool to help UK dairy vets and farmers monitor and reduce use of antibiotics in their dairy herds to help combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the farming industry and beyond. It follows a new study by the Nottingham Vet School showing that, in a large sample of dairy farms, 25% of farms used 50% of the total antibiotics used across all farms in a year - with antibiotic footbaths accounting for the biggest volume dispersed into the food chain.

By attaching specialised molecules to the backbone of DNA, researchers have made it easier to detect rare molecules associated with early disease. The presence of, or changes in the concentration of, certain proteins in biological fluids can be indicators of disease. However, in the early stages of disease these 'biomarkers' can be difficult to detect, as they are relatively rare.

Scientists have identified the genetic mutations that cause sickle cells in deer, according to new research Ecology & Evolution. The scientists from Imperial College London say although their research is in its early stages, it shows promise that certain species of deer might potentially be a surprising model in which to study the effects of sickling in humans such as resistance to malaria.

Research led by scientists at the University of Birmingham has revealed a new cause of high blood pressure which could lead to major changes in managing the disease. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, often goes unnoticed but if left untreated can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The rate of deaths during childbirth more than halved between 1993 and 2015 - representing a reduction of around 220 intrapartum (during labour) deaths per year - according to a report by a team of academics including Professor Sara Kenyon at the University of Birmingham. The report represents the findings of a team of academics, clinicians and charity representatives, called MBRRACE-UK, following their third perinatal confidential enquiry into deaths in childbirth.

Dementia with Lewy bodies has a unique genetic profile, distinct from those of Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease, according to the first large-scale genetic study of this common type of dementia which was led by UCL. The genome-wide association study, conducted by a UCL-led collaboration of 65 academics in 11 countries and funded by Alzheimer's Society and the Lewy Body Society, is published today in The Lancet Neurology .

A new study by experimental psychologists from the University of Bristol has examined whether cognitive bias modification (CBM) for facial interpretation, a digital health intervention that changes our perception for emotional expressions from negative to positive, might be useful in treating depression.

Community screening for osteoporosis could prevent more than a quarter of hip fractures in older women - according to new research involving researchers from the Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol and local hospitals, and led by the University of East Anglia (UEA). The study, published today in The Lancet, reveals that a simple questionnaire, combined with bone mineral density measurements for some, would help identify those at risk of hip fracture.

Earliest archaeological evidence of intestinal parasitic worms infecting the ancient inhabitants of Greece confirms descriptions found in writings associated with Hippocrates, the early physician and 'father of Western medicine'.

Researchers get their first look at how the toxic protein clusters associated with Parkinson's disease disrupt the membranes of healthy brain cells. Parkinson's disease is a degenerative nervous system disorder that affects more than six million people worldwide and causes nearly 120,000 deaths per year.

o Previously unknown functions of natural killer cells identified o Cells remodel and 'refresh' the lining of the womb in preparation for pregnancy o Process isn't always balanced in each cycle o Could lead to screening and treatment for women at risk of miscarriage For the first time the functions of natural killer cells in the womb have been identified.

A UCL-led research team has identified a rare mutation that causes one family to have unusually low sensitivity to pain. The researchers hope the findings, published today in Brain , could be used to identify new treatments for chronic pain. They studied an Italian family, the Marsilis, which includes six people who have a distinctive pain response that has not been identified in any other people.

Researchers at Cardiff University, in collaboration with the University of Dundee, have identified a drug molecule within a medicine used to treat tapeworm infections which could lead to new treatments for patients with Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that, according to the charity, Parkinson's UK, affects one person in every 500.

A new method for preparing ultra-thin slices of heart tissue in the lab could help scientists to study how cells behave inside a beating heart. The heart is made up of millions of individual muscle cells called cardiomyocytes that are kept in place by a criss-crossing network of collagen fibres. These cells work together, contracting in sync to create a strong and regular heartbeat.