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Experiments coupling light and sound reveal the surprising effect when 'nothing' is measured the vibrations of objects are cooled. Researchers at Imperial's Department of Physics shone light into a glass bead - only four times wider than a human hair - that traps both light and high-frequency sound waves by continually reflecting them around its circumference.

An unreleased system designed to assist researchers has the potential to "supercharge science", according to researchers. A partnership between Imperial, the Fleming Initiative , and technology giant Google gave scientists access to a powerful new artificial intelligence, designed to make research faster and more efficient.

Researchers have decoded the signals between hand movements and the brain, paving the way for more natural-feeling prosthetics. In the study, published in Science Robotics , researchers unpicked the connections between hand movement patterns and the control patterns from motoneurons in the spinal cord.

Researchers show that 'Marsquakes' are caused by seismic signals from meteoroid impacts reaching farther and deeper than previously known. Two international studies involving researchers from Imperial College London's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the Center for Space and Habitability  at the  University of Bern in Switzerland, used artificial intelligence (AI) to spot a link between the seismic activity caused by  meteoroid impacts and "Marsquakes" recorded by NASA's InSight mission.

From the crossbow-like tactics used by bacteria, to top marks for homework and a research mystery solved, here is some quick-read news from Imperial. Bacterial survival tactics Bacteria constantly compete with other bacteria for space and nutrients, often by killing others. Researchers from Imperial, Kiel University and the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology analysed the DNA of Pseudomonas aeruginosa , an opportunistic pathogen responsible for 600,000 deaths annually.

Researchers have uncovered a link between COVID-19 and blood markers linked to faulty proteins in the brain. In an analysis led by researchers at Imperial College London and the UK Dementia Research Institute, scientists found that people who had previously had COVID-19 were more likely to have increased levels of biomarkers linked to faulty amyloid proteins - a known hallmark for Alzheimer's disease.

An international researchers will investigate how people develop resistance to the flu in an international £1.76m study backed by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The new project will combine human challenge and vaccine studies to investigate how our immune response in the respiratory tract respond differently to influenza infection and vaccination, which could ultimately help to improve vaccines and treatments.

Scientists have developed a new mathematical model to help people understand the risks posed by AI and assist regulators in protecting privacy. AI tools are increasingly being used to track and monitor people both online and in person, posing challenges for anonymity and privacy. For example, AI tools are being trialled to automatically identify individuals from their voices in online banking, their eyes in humanitarian aid delivery, or their faces in law enforcement.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help doctors identify follicles that are most likely to lead to the birth of a baby during IVF treatment. During IVF treatment, doctors use ultrasound scans to monitor the size of follicles - small sacs in the ovaries containing eggs - to decide when to give a hormone injection known as the 'trigger' to prepare the eggs for collection and ensure that they are ready to be fertilised with sperm to create embryos.

From new surgical techniques and treatments to studies on neurodegenerative disease, here are five of the top brain science stories from this year. Liraglutide slowing Alzheimer's Liraglutide, popularly known as Ozempic, has been trending as the latest weight loss drug in Hollywood, but researchers at Imperial have discovered a new possible use for it.

The missing ingredient for cooking up stars has been spotted for the first time by an international team led by astronomers at Imperial College. Much like a pressure cooker has a weight on top of its lid to keep the pressure in and get your festive dessert dense, moist and ready to eat, merging galaxies may need magnetic fields to create the ideal conditions for star formation.

Mothers living within 20 kilometres of waste incinerators may have a small increase in the total levels of two chemical pollutants in their body. In an analysis led by researchers at Imperial College London, scientists have shown an association between women's exposure to emissions from municipal waste incinerators (MWIs) and small increased levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins found in their milk.

A groundbreaking navigation device can help people with visual impairment perform a location task as well as sighted people, new research shows. Researchers from Imperial College London, working with the company MakeSense Technology and the charity Bravo Victor, have developed a shape-changing device called Shape that helps people with visual impairment navigate through haptic perception - the way people understand information about objects through touch.

Scientists reveal how coffee wilt fungi gained genes to better infect arabica and robusta crops. A new study reveals how genetic interactions between fungal pathogens contributed to the repeated outbreaks of coffee wilt disease threatening arabica and robusta coffee. Coffee wilt disease is caused by Fusarium xylarioides , a soil-borne fungus that invades coffee plants through the roots, eventually blocking water uptake and causing the plants to wilt.

Specialist macrophages play a key role in the control of muscle and movement Researchers at Imperial College London have discovered that specialist macrophages - a type of white blood cell -play a key role in the control of muscle contraction and locomotion. The discovery overturns previous assumptions that muscle contraction and movement is controlled solely by the nervous system - including the brain and spinal cord.

Researchers uncover a 'chemical metronome' in the brain, which helps to synchronise the master clock telling us when it's time to sleeep. In a study of brain cells from mice and humans, researchers have found that star-shaped cells called astrocytes rhythmically produce a chemical pulse that helps the brain's master clock to keep time, influencing our circadian rhythm and sleep-wake cycle.

An Imperial-led study has highlighted how rare variants of a gene regulating the gut lining may increase the risk of MIS-C by up to four times. Scientists have uncovered genetic variants which help to explain why some children with mild COVID-19 go on to develop a severe inflammatory condition weeks after their infection.

Uranus's upper atmosphere has been cooling for decades - and now scientists have shown why. Observations from Earth have shown Uranus' upper atmosphere has been cooling for decades, with no clear explanation. Now, a team led by Imperial College London scientists has determined that unpredictable long-term changes in the solar wind - the stream of particles and energy coming from the Sun - are behind the drop.

Like people, birds have fewer friends as they age, but the reasons why are unclear. New research suggests they may just have no drive to. In humans, it's often been assumed that older people have fewer friends because they're pickier about who they spend their time with. There's also the issue that there are fewer people of their own age around.

A nationwide citizen science project has found high levels of chemical pollutants in freshwater bodies across the UK. Thousands of volunteers have helped to provide a snapshot of the health of the nation's rivers and waterways, highlighting high levels of nitrates and phosphates, as well as a cocktail of chemical compounds that pose a risk to ecosystems.