news 2018

Improving adherence to cholesterol-lowering treatments reduces cardiovascular risk for at risk patients. Thousands of heart attacks and deaths from cardiovascular disease could be prevented by patients taking higher doses of statins and taking the drugs as advised by doctors.

Here's a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial. From new insights into star formation, to an annual blast injury conference, here is some quick-read news from across the College. Extreme starburst galaxies Current theories predict a maximum amount of stars that a galaxy can produce each year.

Gravitational waves have been detected after the largest collision of black holes ever observed. The collision took place roughly five billion years ago and produced gravitational waves that were observed on Earth by extremely sensitive detectors on 29 July 2017. The gravitational waves - tiny ripples in space-time that are produced by violent cosmic events - showed that the black holes weighed more than 50 and 34 times the mass of our Sun and collided to produce a single object over 80 times the mass of our star.

New research, from scientists at Imperial College London, unravels how so-called bacterial persister cells manipulate our immune cells. The work potentially opens new avenues to finding ways of clearing these bacterial cells from the body, and stopping recurrence of the bacterial infection. The latest findings may help explain why some people suffer from repeated bouts of an illness, despite taking antibiotics.

The first study to test for bovine tuberculosis in badgers on the edge of the cattle TB epidemic in England, has shown that one in five badgers tested positive for the disease. The pilot survey was carried out on road-killed badgers collected in Cheshire in 2014 through a local stakeholder TB Group that included farmers, wildlife groups and vets.

Tonight the crowds will gather in Trafalgar Square to see the lights on the world's most famous Christmas tree switched on. But it's the bits we can't see that make the Norway Spruce ( Picea abies ) so magnificent. CT scanning - X-Ray Computed Tomography (X-Ray CT) - is an imaging technique originally developed by Sir Godfrey Hounsfield for medical application.

The largest study of genetic variation in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension has associated two important genes with the disease. In collaboration with institutes from Europe and Northern America, researchers from Imperial College London have conducted the largest genetic analysis to date of 2,000 patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and identified associations with two genes.

A new toy model proposes a way to unify dark energy and dark matter in our Universe. Normal matter is the basic building block of humans, plants, and the solar system, but yet only comprises 5% of all the matter in the Universe. The other 95% is typically invisible, other than when its presence is inferred via gravitational effects.

It's official, the humble gecko is the Maserati of reptiles. Despite being just a few centimetres long, the gecko is known for its superior acrobatic skills and ability to power through the most challenging terrain, such as, climbing the tallest trees and running across cold, slippery ice. Scientists have now cracked perhaps its most head-scratching talent of all: how it walks on water.

Volcanoes are not fed by molten magma formed in large chambers finds a new study, overturning classic ideas about volcanic eruptions. Instead, the study suggests that volcanoes are fed by so-called 'mush reservoirs' - areas of mostly solid crystals with magma in the small spaces between the crystals.

Research from King's College London suggests that reorganisation of mental health services can have a negative effect on the health of people with severe mental illness, due to the disruption of relationships between patients and carers. Lasting relationships between people with severe mental illness and healthcare professionals are prized by patients, doctors and policymakers.

Scientists have uncovered an unexpected new role for a protein that may underlie rare diseases. A protein, called p62, is chopped by molecular scissors to help cells realise that they are 'hungry', encouraging them to break down and consume old material in the cell. This helps them to stay healthy and fight off infection.

'Anhedonia' (the loss of pleasure) is one of the key symptoms of depression. An important component of this symptom is an inability to feel excitement in anticipation of events; however the brain mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood.

Volcanoes are not fed by molten magma formed in large chambers finds a new study, overturning classic ideas about volcanic eruptions. Instead, the study suggests that volcanoes are fed by so-called 'mush reservoirs' - areas of mostly solid crystals with magma in the small spaces between the crystals.

New research led by the Hip Implant Prosthesis Study (HIPS) team at the University of Bristol Medical School has shown that small-head (less than 36 mm in diameter) cemented metal-on-plastic hip replacements are the most cost-effective in men and women older than 65 years. For adults younger than 65, small-head cemented ceramic-on-plastic hip replacements are more likely to be cost-effective.

Encouraging people to change their behavior through social marketing campaigns can help the recovery of threatened wildlife populations. New research shows that social marketing campaigns play an important role in the recovery of wildlife species, offering evidence that can help conservationists design more cost-effective future campaigns.

A super-sensitive passenger scanner that reveals hidden security threats is being trialled at Cardiff Airport in the UK. The walk-through scanner, which uses space technology to image human body heat, is the result of a collaboration between Sequestim Ltd. and Cardiff University scientists. Computer learning allows the scanner to distinguish between threats and non-threats but without the need for passengers to keep still or remove outer clothing.

Scientists have discovered a fish species which significantly evolved and expanded its ecological toolset, after an effort was made to reduce pollution in its ecosystem. The study, led by the University of Glasgow and the University of Konstanz and published in Nature Ecology and Evolution , found that the gangfisch - a European whitefish subspecies - expanded its genetic diversity after habitat loss and hybridization with other whitefish subspecies during eutrophication.

E. coli , the notorious bug associated with severe food poisoning and usually caught from undercooked meat, is a common concern for anyone cooking over the festive period. While thoroughly cooking meat and washing vegetables and hands after food preparation can prevent E. coli infection, treatment for the severe stomach bug can be difficult, as antibiotics are known to make the disease worse by releasing a potent toxin into the infected person's gut.

Women who experience domestic violence and abuse (DVA) are more than twice as likely to seek emergency contraception as other women, according to a study by National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-funded researchers at the University of Bristol and Queen Mary University of London, suggesting that requests for emergency contraception could be an important sign of abuse.