Imperial College Podcast

In this edition: Differences between men's and women's hearts, how psychedelics can change our worldview, and introducing children to nanotechnology. News: Omicron latest and Three Wise Women – We learn about the latest research into Omicron and how it might evade immunity , the value of booster vaccines , and hear about three Imperial medical experts working on different aspects of the pandemic....

In this edition: A new test to monitor treatment-resistant HIV, a book tracing the fight against infection, and how the NHS can make cheaper drugs. News: COP26 roundup and detecting illegal images – We discuss the progress and shortcomings of the latest climate change conference and hear about worrying findings that algorithms designed to discover illegal images are easy to fool . Simple HIV test...

In this edition: What makes a healthy environment, the final steps to eliminate polio, and a test for proper cleaning. News: Life expectancy and a new space mission – We discover that life expectancy in England was dropping even before the pandemic, and celebrate Imperial physicists building an instrument for a new NASA mission. What is a healthy environment? – We chat to researchers who interview...

In this edition: We tackle climate change injustice and anxiety, and hear about a new way to build quantum computers. News: Imperial at COP26 and previewing the Great Exhibition Road Festival – We hear about Imperial's priorities for the upcoming COP26 climate change summit , and find out what's happening at the new hybrid Great Exhibition Road Festival , for which this year's theme is 'one world'...

In this edition: Art-science collaborations around wildfire research, joining the climate fight, and an app to aid stroke rehabilitation. News: New test for eye disease – We learn about a new AI-led test for a debilitating eye disease that can cause blindness, and how warming temperature may affect bumblebees' flight . The art and science of wildfires – We hear about a series of workshops that bro...

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 competin...

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 a...

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...

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...

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 e...

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 wh...

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...

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...

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 Ch...

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 ne...

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...

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 resea...

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 dri...

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 shou...

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 sol...

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 vac...

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 fr...

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 aer...

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 governme...

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...