Unexpected Life Lurking in Subglacial Lakes Isolated Deep Beneath Antarctic Ice
Lakes underneath the Antarctic ice sheet could be more hospitable than previously thought, allowing them to host more microbial life. This is the finding of…
Imperial College London
Rare Quadruple-Helix DNA Found in Living Human Cells With Glowing Probes
New probes allow scientists to see four-stranded DNA interacting with molecules inside living human cells, unraveling its role in cellular processes. DNA usually forms the…
Scientists Warn: Ice Sheet Uncertainties Could Mean Sea Level Will Rise More Than Predicted
Sea level could rise higher than current estimates by 2100 if climate change is unchallenged, according to a new assessment. Its authors say understanding the…
Control of Powerful Plasma Accelerators Improved With Artificial Intelligence
Researchers have used AI to control beams for the next generation of smaller, cheaper accelerators for research, medical and industrial applications. Experiments led by Imperial…
New Lab-on-a-Chip Could Enable Fast, Easy Testing for Colds, Flu, UTIs, and COVID-19 at Home
The chip, developed at Imperial College London and known as TriSilix, is a ‘micro laboratory’ which performs a miniature version of the polymerase chain reaction…
“Zombie Fires” in Peatlands, Which Release Devastating Amounts of Carbon, Could Be Dampened by New Findings
Imperial College London researchers have simulated for the first time how soil moisture content affects the ignition and spread of smoldering peat fires, which can…
Strange Precariously Balanced Rocks Provide Earthquake Forecasting Clues
Precariously balanced rocks (PBRs) are formations found throughout the world where a slender boulder is balanced precariously on a pedestal boulder. They form as blocks…
Genome of Alexander Fleming’s Original Penicillin Mold Sequenced for the First Time
Researchers have sequenced the genome of Alexander Fleming’s penicillin mold for the first time and compared it to later versions. Alexander Fleming famously discovered the…
CovidNudge: Rapid 90-Minute COVID-19 Test Shown to Be Highly Accurate
A 90-minute COVID-19 test has been shown to have over 94 percent sensitivity, and 100% specificity in a new study. The work, published in the…
Unexpected Discovery of a 410-Million-Year-Old Fossil Forces Rethink of Shark Evolution
Sharks’ non-bony skeletons were thought to be the template before bony internal skeletons evolved, but a new fossil discovery suggests otherwise. The discovery of a…
Rare ‘Boomerang’ Earthquake Tracked by Scientists in the Ocean for the First Time
Scientists observed a ‘boomerang’ earthquake along Atlantic Ocean fault line, providing clues about how they could cause devastation on land. Earthquakes occur when rocks suddenly…
Offshore Wind Power Now So Cheap It Could Pay Money Back to Consumers – Pivotal to Reach Net-Zero Carbon Emissions
The latest round of offshore wind farms to be built in the UK could reduce household energy bills by producing electricity very cheaply. Renewable energy…
Quadruple Helix DNA Formation Tracked in Live Human Cells for the First Time
The formation of four-stranded DNA has been tracked in living human cells, allowing scientists to see how it works, and its possible role in cancer….
The Days the Earth Stood Still: COVID-19 Lockdowns Caused Earth Vibrations From Human Activity to Drop 50%
The lack of human activity during lockdown caused human-linked vibrations in the Earth to drop by an average of 50% between March and May 2020….
Mystery Solved: Why Food Poisoning Bacteria Are So Good at Swimming Through Your Gut
Researchers have solved the mystery of why a species of bacteria that causes food poisoning can swim faster in stickier liquids, such as within guts….
Asteroid vs. Volcanoes: New Modeling Shows What Made the Earth Uninhabitable for Dinosaurs
Modeling of the Chicxulub asteroid impact 66 million years ago shows it created a world largely unsuitable for dinosaurs to live in. The asteroid, which…
Improving Lithium-Ion Battery and Fuel Cell Performance With AI
A new machine learning algorithm allows researchers to explore possible designs for the microstructure of fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries, before running 3D simulations that…
Asteroid That Doomed the Dinosaurs Struck Earth at “Deadliest Possible” Angle
New simulations from Imperial College London have revealed the asteroid that doomed the dinosaurs struck Earth at the ‘deadliest possible’ angle. The simulations show that…