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Scientists have successfully used gene editing techniques to limit the spread of bird flu in chickens. In a UK first, researchers have been able to restrict, but not completely block, the avian influenza virus from infecting the birds by precisely altering a small section of their DNA. The modified birds showed no signs that the change had any impact on the animals' health or well-being.

Applying machine learning to find the properties of atomic pieces of geometry shows how AI has the power to accelerate discoveries in maths. Mathematicians from Imperial College London and the University of Nottingham have, for the first time, used machine learning to expand and accelerate work identifying 'atomic shapes' that form the basic pieces of geometry in higher dimensions.

Observations of the BlueWalker 3 prototype satellite show it is one of the brightest objects in the night sky, outshining all but the brightest stars. Astronomers have raised concerns that without mitigation, groups of large satellites could disrupt our ability to observe the stars from Earth and perform radio astronomy.

Imperial and US medical technology company MediBeacon have partnered to advance a non-invasive method of assessing intestinal health. In healthy people, the wall of the intestine forms a barrier between the contents of the gut and the rest of the body, with only the nutrients produced by digestion passing through.

With the ability to map dozens of biomarkers at once, a new method could transform testing for conditions including heart disease and cancer. Currently, many diseases are diagnosed from blood tests that look for one biomarker (such as a protein or other small molecule) or, at most, a couple of biomarkers of the same type.

A common research tool used to measure brain inflammation and test new dementia drugs may not be as helpful as scientists had hoped. In clinical research, scientists use a type of imaging called positron emission tomography (PET) to gain a detailed view of what's happening in the brain. One of the markers targeted by scans, called translocator protein (TSPO), has long been used to measure inflammation driven by microglia - the specialised immune cells in the brain which respond to damage and disease.

Researchers have discovered the brain pathways involved in 'sleep preparatory behaviour' in mice, which is likely to also apply to humans. The team, led by Imperial College London researchers, uncovered the wiring in mouse brains that leads them to begin nesting in preparation for sleep. Published today in Nature Neuroscience , the study reveals that preparing properly for sleep is likely a hard-wired survival feature - one often neglected or overridden by humans.

The most detailed study of a city's waterways anywhere in the world has revealed how chemical pollutants in London's rivers changed over the pandemic. In a study led by researchers at Imperial College London, scientists have shown how pollutants entering the capital's river systems - including traces of prescription medications such as antibiotics and antidepressants - changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Storing renewable energy as hydrogen could soon become much easier thanks to a new catalyst based on single atoms of platinum. The new catalyst, designed by researchers at City University Hong Kong (CityU) and tested by colleagues at Imperial College London, could be cheaply scaled up for mass use. The new electrocatalyst could be a major contributor to ultimately helping the UK meet its net-zero goals by 2050.

Nearly 70 per cent of adolescents and young adults with ulcerative colitis stop taking medication to treat the disease within a year of diagnosis. Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes inflammation and ulcers (sores) in the intestine, and it affects around 200,000 people in the UK.

Imperial engineers and a team of global experts have reviewed technological options, innovation and opportunities in the hybrid solar energy industry. They anticipate that hybrid PV-thermal technologies could produce a further drop in global emissions of about three per cent (around 600 Mega-tonnes of CO2) by 2030 if the systems mentioned in this study are installed as proposed.

Study observing changes in healthy breast cells may explain why breast cancer might develop after pregnancy. A cell-based study has helped begin to disentangle the complex relationship between genetic mutations, pregnancy and breast cancer risk. Researchers from Imperial College London examined healthy breast cells from 29 women who had given birth at different ages and women who did not have any children, to look at genetic mutations and how cells divide.

We spoke to Professor Julie McCann about her work on secure tracking devices that contributed to the first quantum-secure cross-border trade. Towards the end of June, a consortium of scientists, industry and government officials watched anxiously on UK shores as a ship embarked on its journey to Singapore and slowly disappeared out of sight.

A groundbreaking Imperial-led study is looking at indoor exposure to air pollution in more than 100 homes in West London. The WellHome study, led by Imperial College London's world-leading Environmental Research Group , is a first-of-its-kind community-based study focusing on assessing air quality inside and outside of homes, as well as identifying various contaminants such as chemicals, biological agents, and microplastics that are present within the home environment.

Virtual GP and other primary care consultations can be as effective as face-to-face appointments for a range of health conditions. This is according to a new study by researchers at Imperial College London, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. It found health outcomes for patients who saw doctors remotely at least matched those for in-person care for mental illness, alcohol misuse, weight management and advice on quitting smoking.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria get extra nutrients and thrive when the drugs kill 'good' bacteria in the gut. This is according to new research led by Imperial College London scientists, which could lead to better patient risk assessment and 'microbiome therapeutics' treatments to help combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

By monitoring the calls of spider monkeys, researchers have shown what level of human activity they will tolerate, helping guide conservation. The study, led by Imperial College London researchers, showed that Geoffroy's spider monkeys in Costa Rica are not found in areas with less than 80% forest cover and within one kilometre of a paved main road.

Researchers have carried out a study to understand the psycho-social impacts of climate crisis on young people in the UK. The study found that distress over climate change is related to many difficult emotions in young people - even in the absence of direct climate-related experience. It can, though, also motivate them to take positive climate actions.

Researchers have filmed, for the first time, bodily 'pressure sensors' whose discoverers won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The sensors - ion channels called Piezo1 and Piezo2 - are found throughout the body, from the heart, bladder and kidneys to the immune and nervous systems. I would love to see drugs based on this mechanism developed in the next ten years.

A simple blood test which may be able to rapidly diagnose the cause of a child's illness could be 'transformative', say researchers. An international team, led by researchers at Imperial College London, has developed and validated a diagnostic approach capable of simultaneously detecting and distinguishing between 18 infectious or inflammatory diseases - including group B Streptococcus (GBS), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and tuberculosis - with the potential to provide a result in a fraction of the time of current diagnostic tests.