In this edition: Delving into long covid, bioplastics and the future of recycling, and a first-year physics project that became a peer-reviewed paper. News: Latest COVID-19 survey results and Imperial at the Olympics – We catch up with the latest REACT results, showing coronavirus infections doubling every six days but antibodies also ramping up , and meet the Imperial students and alumni competing in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. What do we know about long COVID? – We catch up wi...
Jul 21, 2021•26 min
In this edition: We examine the impact of radiation from nuclear accidents, meet a Sickle Cell Warrior, and follow those fighting the Four Horsemen. News: Science meets poetry and music – We hear about how Imperial scientists have teamed up with poets to create spoken-word pieces and how a COVID-19 study has been set to music. Radiation from nuclear accidents – It’s been 35 years since Chernobyl and 10 years since Fukushima – so what issues has the radiation actually caused? Professor Gerry Thom...
Jun 23, 2021•23 min
In this edition: How pandemic behaviours have changed, why carbon needs to be rapidly cut, and how Imperial is supporting global sustainability. News: Digital chemistry and the impact of climate change on mental health – We celebrate the launch of ‘DigiFAB’ – the Institute for Digital Molecular Design and Fabrication – and get a preview of a new report looking at how climate change affects mental wellbeing . A year of insights into global COVID behaviours – How have people’s attitudes and behavi...
May 18, 2021•23 min
In this edition: We investigate the psychedelic research renaissance, discover an AI designed to spot organ failure, and chat to Maggie Aderin-Pocock. News: Island evolution and an ancient asteroid – We hear how animals evolve into dwarfs or giants on islands and how a 430,000-year-old asteroid impact in Antarctica has been identified from the dust it left behind. Psychedelic research renaissance – We celebrate the second anniversary of the Centre for Psychedelic Research , looking at the succes...
Apr 20, 2021•23 min
In this edition: Launching human challenge trials for COVID-19, a new air pollution monitoring network for London, and fully biodegradable plastics. News: Potential new physics and climate change innovation – Imperial physicists are part of a team that have found hints of a new kind of physics , and a new centre for climate change innovation launches to help accelerate the transition to net zero emissions. Infecting people with COVID-19 – We hear from the investigators behind the world’s first ‘...
Mar 24, 2021•26 min
In this edition: What testing on transport says about coronavirus transmission, how new virus variants are emerging, and chatting to a cardiologist. News: Dragonfly flight, making audio more immersive and landing on Mars – We hear how dragonflies perform mid-air backward somersaults to right themselves, why making more immersive audio experiences could improve virtual interactions, and discover what the next Mars rover, landing on the red planet this week, will investigate. TfL testing for coron...
Feb 17, 2021•24 min
In this edition: Spreading US election misinformation, deciding the future of the NHS, and improving breast cancer surgery. News: Identifying new coronavirus variants and kombucha-inspired materials – We hear about a new consortium , led by Imperial researchers, tracking changes in new coronavirus variants, and find out how kombucha tea ingredients are being used to make new smart living materials . US election misinformation – Analysis of the past two US presidential elections shows where misin...
Jan 27, 2021•24 min
In this edition: A new child health centre opens, assistive technologies at the Cybathlon, and healthier Christmas food for you and the planet. News: Looking back at 2020 – Our podcast team share the most interesting facts they’ve learned on the job this year – from how much water it takes to make a pair of jeans to how fungus can be used to make a leather alternative. Launch of a new child health centre – We catch up with the Centre for Paediatrics and Child Health 's inaugural Director, Profes...
Dec 16, 2020•26 min
In this edition: The nocebo effect of statins, the latest on Imperial’s COVID-19 vaccine and a former PM talks pandemic. News: Gut problems linked to depression, and a new test for Chagas disease – We find how people with inflammatory bowel conditions are often diagnosed with depression before their bowel diagnosis, and discover a new test that can differentiate between the different strains of Chagas disease. The nocebo effect of statins – We learn from Dr James Howard about his study that foun...
Nov 25, 2020•24 min
In this edition: Exploring pandemic mental health, comparing spaceflight and frontline NHS work, and linking severe morning sickness with depression. News: The toll of the first wave and bringing the Festival online – We discover how the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic affected deaths from all causes , and look forward to the Great Exhibition Road Festival moving online with the launch of a new art project . Youth mental health during the pandemic – We speak to Dr Lindsay Dewa, who is part o...
Oct 21, 2020•26 min
In this edition: A $3m-prizewinning mathematician, a new project into how children transmit COVID-19, and recipes with anti-cancer properties. News: Hints of life on Venus and fungal leather – We discuss the discovery of a molecule possibly linked with life in the clouds of Venus, and whether leather could be replaced by a more eco-friendly material made from fungus. Millionaire mathematician – We catch up with Professor Martin Hairer, winner of the $3m Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics , hearin...
Sep 23, 2020•26 min
In this edition: Results of the COVID-19 vaccine animal trials and the latest news from the human trials, plus privacy in contact tracing apps. News: Coronavirus in the community and Lates online – We find out the latest results from the REACT study, analysing past and present COVID-19 infections , and look forward to the program of online Imperial Lates events , connecting the public to our research. COVID-19 vaccine animal trials – We hear about encouraging results from the vaccine trial on mi...
Aug 19, 2020•28 min
In this edition: A participant in Imperial’s COVID-19 vaccine trial, a professor who set up a neurodiversity network, and our new poet in residence. News: AI and COVID-19 treatments, plus extreme driving – We find out about a new trial using artificial intelligence to improve ventilation for very ill COVID-19 patients, and what tracking the body and eye movements and brain waves of a Formula E driver can tell us about expertise. Taking part in a COVID-19 vaccine trial – We catch up with a partic...
Jul 22, 2020•24 min
In this edition: How to make a billion COVID-19 vaccines, why women feel unsafe on public transport, and how emerging economies fare under COVID-19. News: Reacting to George Floyd’s death – We speak to Sarah Essilfie-Quaye and Dr Wayne Mitchell from Imperial as One , an advisory group made up of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff, about the response to George Floyd’s death and what should be done to tackle racism. You can also hear an extended version of this interview. Scaling up vac...
Jun 17, 2020•25 min
In this edition: Britain’s intelligence and mental health, COVID-19’s impact on primary care, and a sustainable economic recovery after the pandemic. News: Compression stockings and tackling global challenges online – We discover how compression stockings do not lower your risk of developing blood clots after surgery, and how an online platform is bringing together scientists and innovators to solve grand challenges like COVID-19 or climate change. Measuring Britain’s intelligence and mental hea...
May 20, 2020•23 min
In this edition: We hear from researchers working on a COVID-19 vaccine and with patient samples, and how students are coping in isolation. News: University Challenge win and neutrino discovery – We celebrate Imperial’s spectacular University Challenge win and discover how neutrinos may hold the key to why the universe is made up of matter rather than antimatter . On the frontlines of COVID-19 vaccine development – We speak to Dr Anna Blakney about what it’s like to work on a vaccine the whole w...
Apr 22, 2020•25 min
In this edition: We hear from people tracking the spread of COVID-19, making better baby food, and designing for a move to Mars. News: Bee brains and tracking fireballs – We learn how certain pesticides are impairing baby bee brains, and how a network of cameras and volunteers across the UK are tracking fallen stars . Counting coronavirus – How fast and how widely is COVID-19 spreading? We hear from epidemiologist Professor Azra Ghani about how they make sure they have the right data to build th...
Mar 18, 2020•23 min
In this edition: Join the race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, check in on the Sustainable Development Goals, and discover how to argue with a racist. News: Solar Orbiter lift-off and cutting contrails – We follow Imperial’s instrument aboard the Solar Orbiter spacecraft as it takes its first data in space , and find out how altitude changes of just 2000 feet can cut the environmental impact of aeroplane contrails. The race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine – We meet the Imperial team, headed by Prof...
Feb 19, 2020•23 min
In this edition: We discuss whether drug policy is working, why Australia is experiencing megafires, and what can be done about fatbergs. News: Miscarriage and PTSD, and a remarkable refugee professor – We find out how many women experience post-traumatic stress disorder after miscarriage, and learn about the remarkable life of a venerable maths professor. Is drug policy working? – Former government adviser Professor David Nutt tells us how restrictions on tobacco are working, but that hard drug...
Jan 22, 2020•23 min
In this edition: We discover treatments for baby brain injuries, see what’s new on Mars for 2020 and find out how to prevent pandemics. News: Doctor burnout and Sun discoveries – We discuss a study showing a surprising number of doctors suffer from emotional exhaustion , and discover new insights into the Sun from a spacecraft that has flown closer to our star than ever before. Reducing baby brain injuries – We explore projects testing treatments for brain injuries in babies in the developing wo...
Dec 18, 2019•23 min
In this edition: We explore the possible harms of vaping, meet dogs trained to detect disease, and travel through the physics of CERN. News: Sepsis alert and dreaming while awake – We find out about a new system to automatically alert doctors to patients displaying signs of sepsis, and discover how the psychedelic drug in ayahuasca affects the brain . Is vaping dangerous? – We examine the evidence around recent deaths from e-cigarettes, exploring how non-sanctioned uses and flavourings may be ha...
Nov 27, 2019•23 min
In this edition: Investigating UK painkiller prescriptions, how the climate crisis affects mental health and the return of race science. News: Air quality in parks and the power of krill – We discover that more than a quarter of London’s open spaces exceed limits for nitrogen dioxide pollution , and that small crustaceans play an outsized role in the global climate . Does the UK have a painkiller crisis? – Major opioid prescriptions are declining in the UK, but are the drugs they’re replaced wit...
Oct 23, 2019•25 min
In this edition: We revisit summer expeditions into the caves of Slovenia, along the Silk Road and at Everest base camp. News: Surrey quakes and Antarctic archives – We review research that concludes oil drilling was not responsible for earthquakes in Surrey , and hear how restored data from the 1970s is providing a new look at Antarctic ice melt . Adventures with the caving club – Journey deep into a Slovenian mountain with the Imperial College Caving Club, squeezing through narrow passages and...
Sep 17, 2019•21 min
In this edition: We explore Sir Ernst Chain’s role in penicillin, apps tackling mental health, and an algorithm making sense of patient feedback. News: Obesity injections and bat faces – We discuss a new treatment for obesity that provides an alternative to surgery, and meet some handsome bats with an interesting evolutionary story. The story of Sir Ernst Chain – The founder of Imperial’s biochemistry division, Sir Ernst Chain, was a German-Jewish refugee who played an important role in bringing...
Aug 21, 2019•23 min
In this edition: We commemorate 50 years since the Moon landing by looking ahead to the future of space travel, medicine and exploration. News: Moon landing facts – We celebrate the Apollo 11 mission with some little-known facts about the moon landing, and look at the next mission heading to our nearest neighbour. Future of space travel with Britain’s first astronaut – We chat to Helen Sharman, Britain’s first astronaut (and outreach ambassador at Imperial) about the future of spaceflight – will...
Jul 24, 2019•24 min
In this bonus edition of the Imperial College Podcast we invite you to take a front row seat at a special Q&A with the UK government’s Chief Scientific Adviser. Sir Patrick Vallance came to Imperial this month to launch The Forum - Imperial’s new policy engagement programme. In a candid Q&A with an audience of staff, students, senior policy figures and members of the media, Patrick spoke about the importance of collaboration between academia and policy-makers. Facilitated by Professor Ma...
Jul 19, 2019•50 min
In this edition: We get ready for the Festival by taking a talk quiz, building a mini Theremin, and hearing some scientific spoken word poetry. News: Pre-Incan waterways and analysing incinerators – We hear how 1400-year-old methods of water management could boost supplies during Peru's dry season, and how exposure to municipal waste incinerators has no link infant death or reduced foetal growth. Talking about talks – The Great Exhibition Road Festival will host 30+ free public talks across the ...
Jun 27, 2019•24 min
In this edition: Climate champion Jo Haigh retires, and we find out how often kids see alcohol marketing and how a game is helping stroke recovery. News: Dyson School opening and eating insects – We celebrate the Dyson School of Design Engineering building officially opening and discuss why eating insects is a good idea. Climate champion retires – Professor Jo Haigh, Co-Director of the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and Environment retired this month after 35 years at Imperial. We talk to h...
May 22, 2019•25 min
In this edition: We find out why students cheat, how 3D printing has evolved and tune into the sounds of the rainforest. News: Festival preview – The Imperial Festival has joined up with 19 of its neighbours this year to bring you the largest selection of science, art, technology and entertainment South Kensington has to offer. Join us for the Great Exhibition Road Festival on 28-30 June. Why do some students cheat? – There’s a lot of pressure to succeed in university, and students worldwide are...
Apr 17, 2019•26 min
In this edition: We mark Imperial Enterprise Month with women entrepreneurs and leaders, plus advice for making businesses playful. News: Alternatives to statins and dinosaur demise – We discover a new class of drugs that could lower cholesterol in people unable to take statins, and find out that the dinosaurs were thriving before the deadly asteroid strike. Agents for Change – Can six months of leadership training for women make a difference in the local community? We meet one participant of th...
Mar 19, 2019•23 min
