news

New analysis led by Imperial's School of Public Health shows obesity rates have increased dramatically over the last three decades. One in eight people in the world is now living with obesity, according to a new analysis which highlights changes to global trends in malnutrition over more than 30 years.

COVID-19 may have an impact on people's cognitive and memory abilities that lasts a year or more after infection. A new study by Imperial College London researchers reveals small deficits in the performance of cognitive and memory tasks in people who had recovered from COVID-19 compared with those who had not had COVID-19.

Researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to extract information about the chemical makeup of lung tumours from medical scans. For the first time, they have demonstrated how combining medical imaging with AI can be used to provide a 'virtual biopsy' for cancer patients. Their non-invasive method can classify the type of lung cancer a patient has - which is crucial in selecting the right treatment - and can predict if the cancer is likely to progress.

A recently approved malaria vaccine could prevent hundreds of deaths and hundreds thousands of cases of the disease. Malaria vaccine R21/Matrix-M could prevent one death for approximately every 159 vaccinated children in settings with year-round malaria transmission and for every 153 vaccinated children in seasonal settings over 15 years, according to the modelling study.

Imperial scientists have built a toolkit to boost yeast's ability to produce food, materials, and pharmaceuticals by engineering optimal behaviours. Microbes such as bacteria and yeast are increasingly being used to produce components of medicines, biofuels, and food. Indeed, baker's yeast, also known as brewer's yeast, or Saccharomyces cerevisiae , is responsible for the fermentation process used in making beer or bread but it is also used at scale to produce other molecules of value for industry.

Magic mushrooms, LSD and other psychoactive compounds may help to improve sexual function for months after the psychedelic experience. These are the findings of the first known scientific investigation into the effects of psychedelics on sex, which finds participants reported improvements across a range of measures for several weeks after an acute psychedelic experience.

Slow-motion videos collected and analysed by Imperial College London researchers give us new insights into why nocturnal insects gather around light. A Bug's Life fans might remember the unfortunate trance-like state of a mosquito, who, despite calls to 'not look into the light' just couldn't help it, because 'it is so beautiful.' In fact, phototaxis - the movement of organisms in response to light - has interested researchers for years, and yet the reasons behind nocturnal insects' transfixion with light is highly debated.

A new study reveals that handwashing in the weeks after spot-on flea and tick treatments is the largest source of pet pesticide pollution in rivers. The study's authors, from the University of Sussex and Imperial College London, are calling for a review of the regulatory framework and prescribing practices to address toxic pet pesticides washing into rivers.

Researchers from Imperial College London have shown that a blood test can pinpoint the underlying cause of brain injury in newborns. Their study looked at babies with a type of brain injury caused by hypoxia - a lack of oxygen. It found that patterns of gene expression that are detectable in the blood can point to the cause of the injury and tell doctors if the newborn is likely to respond to cooling treatment, commonly used to treat brain injury in infants.

Replacement heart valves that grow inside the body are a step closer to reality following studies led by researchers at Imperial. Surgery to replace faulty heart valves has been possible for more than 60 years, but the treatment has medical drawbacks, both with mechanical or biological valves. But what if the body's natural repair mechanisms could be harnessed to build a living heart valve, right where it is needed? Recent studies led by researchers at Harefield Hospital and Imperial's National Heart and Lung Institute suggest that this approach is entirely possible.

Changes to blood pressure over time could be used to identify patients at greatest risk of heart attack and stroke. These are the findings of a new analysis from the ASCOT study, led by researchers from Imperial College London and published today in the European Heart Journal. It reveals that patients with blood pressure that varies significantly from one doctor's visit to the next may be at greater risk of cardiovascular events compared to those with high blood pressure but low variability, and which is kept under control with medication.

Digistain, a company with its roots at Imperial, has proven the worth of its breast cancer assessment method in a significant clinical trial. A method that rapidly predicts breast cancer survival rates, based on a technique invented at Imperial, has been successfully tested in a clinical validation study.

A simple blood test could help diagnose patients with the deadliest form of brain cancer, sparing them from undergoing invasive, highly-risky surgery. In a world-first, the new technique has been proven for glial tumours including glioblastoma (GBM), the most commonly-diagnosed type of high-grade brain tumour in adults.

A driving simulation study has shown we are one step closer to monitoring our heart health in real time via a tiny device worn in the ear. A study co-led by PhD candidate Metin Yarici in Imperial's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has shown for the first time how tiny devices in a single ear can gather electrocardiogram (ECG) data in real time.

Here's a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial. From research exploring why female sparrows might cheat, to a study that investigated how morphine can reduce coughing in patients, here is some quick-read news from across Imperial. Pick me Picky female sparrows may be more unfaithful, new Imperial research suggests.

From creating new navigation systems to remixing old experiments, here are Imperial's top five quantum moments from 2023. Throughout 2023 Imperial has had many quantum breakthroughs. From wavefunction experiments to satellite-free navigation systems, this is 2023's round-up of quantum research at Imperial and how it's making its way out of the lab.

Here's a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial. From a simulation to understand why land-cover changes have occurred, to a study that found different antidepressants all target serotonin, here is some quick-read news from across Imperial. Changing landscapes When land-cover changes happen, such as during the expansion of agriculture, there are numerous possible interacting reason for such changes, from environmental to social.

Studying strange forms of RNA associated with the formation of aggregates in the brains of ALS patients could lead to new avenues for treatments. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive motor neuron disease, which causes degeneration of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain. Neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS, dementia, and Alzheimer's, are the leading cause of death in the UK, and there are no known cures.

The risk of dying of cancer in England varies hugely depending on where people live, according to new research led by Imperial. In an analysis of mortality rates for 10 forms of cancer with the largest death toll for men and women, researchers found the risk of dying from cancer varies widely depending on which district in England patients live.

A study looking at 15 years of HIV transmission and suppression in Uganda reveals how closing gender gaps in treatment could slash infection rates. Providing more heterosexual men with easy access to HIV treatment and care could help to suppress the virus and rapidly cut transmission to their female partners, shows a new study published in Nature Microbiology .