Imperial College London

For Imperial College London I am a Research Media Officer for the Faculty of Natural Sciences. The role combines press officer duties, where I take enquiries from the media and create and distribute press releases, and science news editor, creating news and multimedia features and curating the science news page. I also manage Imperial’s monthly podcast and a small team of annual interns.

I originally filled the role temporarily as a secondment from the Natural History Museum March-June 2015, going back to it permanently from September 2015.

Links to all stories are categorised below, oldest to newest, or you can see a full list of my most recent stories.
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* Stars denote my favourites!

Physics

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• Large Hadron Collider prepares to probe more mysteries of the universe
• More than 200 ancient galaxy clusters discovered
• First results from comet-landing mission revealed
• New ultrafast laser technique set to probe fundamentals of chemical reactions
• First T2K measurement of antineutrino identity-shifting behaviour announced
• Solar wind monitoring mission passes the first hurdle
• New tool could predict large solar storms more than 24 hours in advance *
• Shock waves at Saturn could reveal secrets of exploding stars
• Neutrinos scoop the Nobel Prize in Physics 2015
• 3D microscopy technique allows scientists to trace dangerous heart waves
• Q and A with winning neutrino scientists as experiments pocket $3 million prize
• Lasers could rapidly make materials hotter than the Sun
• General relativity anniversary: the past, present and future of spacetime (feature) *
• General relativity anniversary: a celebration with Imperial physicists
• General relativity anniversary: What happens if you fall into a black hole? (animation)
• Saturn’s magnetic bubble explosions help release gas
• Space mission to test gravitational wave detector lifts off
• Difficult birth for the universe provides clues to particle physics mystery
• 106-year-old theory of light demonstrated with metamaterial model
• Gravitational wave detection heralds a ‘new era of cosmological observation’
• Ultrafast method for measuring ultrafast lasers reveals complex waveforms
• Jupiter’s X-ray aurora is sparked by the solar wind
• Physicists receive Royal Society award to widen access to 3D imaging technique
• Unplanned Venus experiment reveals surprises in the atmosphere
• Rare materials that shrink when heated could lead to more stable electronics
• Spacecraft fly through explosive magnetic phenomenon to understand space weather
• Proton beam therapy and physics to be explored in research collaboration
• Number of habitable planets could be limited by stifling atmospheres
• Large Hadron Collider gets upgraded ‘brain’ to handle billions of collisions
• Prototype gravitational wave detector exceeds expectations
• Light and matter mixed in a tiny golden trap *
• The Big Bang might have been just a Big Bounce *
• Nature’s weirdest particles in the spotlight at Neutrino 2016 conference
• Scientists discover light could exist in a previously unknown form *
• Evidence mounts that neutrinos are the key to the universe’s existence
• Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider ready to find magnetic monopoles
• Scientists confirm the universe has no direction *
• New data on weird state of matter could help the development of fusion power
• Fathers of Higgs boson detectors awarded particle physics prize
• Physicists make it possible to 3D print your own baby universe *
• Single-molecule graphene switches bring minute electronic devices a step closer
• Theory that challenges Einstein’s physics could soon be put to the test *
• Fledgling stars try to prevent their neighbours from birthing planets
• Researchers uncover secret of nanomaterial that makes harvesting sunlight easier
• Imperial instrument ready to study the Sun *
• Technology that could detect cancer more accurately wins Innovation Award
• Miniature landscape of solar cells bags physicist top photo prize
• Cassini spacecraft begins its final dance with Saturn
• Clouds’ response to pollution clarified with new climate analysis
• Physicists allow people to explore cosmology with taste *
• Physicists squeeze extra data from superfast x-ray probes using machine learning
• Surprise organic molecule detection paints complex picture of Saturnian moon
• Saturn’s ‘weird’ magnetic field perplexes scientists
• Physicists shed light on rarely seen 16th-century metal-working technique *
• Scientists closer to explaining why matter persists over antimatter
• Cassini spacecraft bids farewell after 13 years exploring Saturn
• Galaxy-spotting telescope that studied star formation celebrated by scientists
• Electron behaviour under extreme conditions described for the first time
• Imperial hosts two-day celebration of Cassini mission success
• 10 years of the trapped rainbow: the revolution of slow light *
• Duo of titanic galaxies caught in extreme starbursting merger
• New way to write magnetic info could pave the way for hardware neural networks
• Squeezing light into a tiny channel brings optical computing a step closer
• European satellite confirms general relativity with unprecedented precision
• Solid start in the quest for an elusive particle
• More evidence Earth-like planets could sustain life as their atmospheres probed
• Intense laser experiments provide first evidence that light can stop electrons
• ‘Digistain’ technology offers revolution in detailed cancer diagnosis
• Experiments underway to turn light into matter
• Ocean warming can predict land warming with simple model
• Fleet of spacecraft spot long-sought-after process in the Earth’s magnetic field
• X-rays from tabletop lasers allows scientists to peer through the ‘water window’
• New measurements of Higgs boson deepen our understanding of the origin of mass
• “The universe is incredibly simple” says renowned physicist at annual lecture
• Scientists spot erupting jets of material as black hole tears a star apart
• Ground broken on upgrades to the Large Hadron Collider
• Molecular oxygen in comet’s atmosphere not created on its surface
• UK delivers super-cool kit to aid the global hunt for dark matter
• Surprise slow electrons are produced when intense lasers hit clusters of atoms
• Physicists fight laser chaos with quantum chaos to improve laser performance
• Just seven photons can act like billions
• Jupiter mission reaches next milestone as Imperial instrument is ready to test
• Latest insights into Saturn’s weird magnetic field only make things weirder
• Quantum ‘compass’ could allow navigation without relying on satellites *
• Enormous ‘ghost’ galaxy spotted hiding next to the Milky Way
• Powerful aurora-forming mini explosions seen behind the Earth
• First ‘piggyback’ kit for monitoring space weather launched
• Young star caught forming around another star
• How Cassini changed our view of Saturn and its moons
• Non-toxic salt water battery prototype can charge in seconds
• Common scents don’t always make the best perfumes, suggests mathematical study
• Global team of scientists finish assembling next-generation dark matter detector
  
• Lab-based dark energy experiment narrows search options for elusive force
  

Life Sciences

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• Big data study reveals the impacts of changing landscapes on biodiversity
• Logging means ants, worms and other invertebrates lose rainforest dominance
• Partially logged rainforests could be emitting more carbon than assumed
• Imperial bee expert gives his take on latest research on harms from insecticides
• Photosynthesis study gets a musical makeover
• Biologists chart revolutions in pop music by treating songs like organisms
• Biologists to engineer bacteria for vaccine delivery
• New app puts the world’s biodiversity in the palm of your hand
• Fly around your family tree with a new interactive website
• Nature lovers can get involved with citizen science across the UK thanks to OPAL
• Homeless lizards get a new lease of life on Silwood Park Campus
• Probing cells’ recycling centres reveals new drug targets
• All-female animals adapt without sex by stealing foreign DNA
• Modified mosquitoes could help fight against malaria *
• New £4.5m project aims to use bacteria to supply nitrogen to plants
• Don’t blame grey squirrels: their British invasion had much more to do with us *
• ‘Holy grail’ bacteria for crop farming debunked by scientists *
• Logging helps black rats invade rainforests
• The immune system’s cell-splitters revealed in unprecedented detail
• Bee brains as you have never seen them before
• Top predator trout may be able to adapt to warmer waters
• Photosynthesis more ancient than thought, and most living things could do it
• Nanoscale images reveal bacteria motor parts in unprecedented detail *
• Fish diversity receives a boost when species evolve live births
• Malaria scientists aim to look ‘under the bonnet’ of the parasite with new grant
• Fastest-ever molecular imaging reveals reaction crucial for vision
• Steps that lead to genes being switched on revealed in atomic simulation
• For cells, some shapes are easier to swallow than others
• Sparrows with unfaithful ‘wives’ care less for their young *
• Plants’ ability to slow climate change depends on their fungi
• Stopping deforestation will not end tropical species losses
• Wildlife in hedgerows suffers when next to roads or pavements
• Logged rainforests can be an ‘ark’ for mammals, extensive study shows
• A new way to create synthetic proteins could lead to more flexible designs
• Activity of Huntington’s disease gene curbed for six months in mice
• Parkinson’s disease protein plays vital ‘marshalling’ role in healthy brains
• Great white sharks and tuna share genetics that makes them super predators
• A new light protection mechanism discovered in plants
• Impact of pesticide on bumblebees revealed by taking experiments into the field
• Leukaemia cell movement gives clues to tackling treatment-resistant disease *
• Overlooked molecules could revolutionise our understanding of the immune system *
• Sampling species’ DNA trails is leading to better environmental monitoring
• Big data on ecology and evolution explored in new Centre for Doctoral Training
• First movie of energy transfer in photosynthesis solves decades-old debate
• Malaria infection depends on number of parasites, not number of mosquito bites
• Global alien bird species movements mapped for the first time
• Technique that revolutionised biology wins its inventors big science prize
• Imperial to lead new £3m London consortium for structural biology
• Atomic map of malaria drug gives it new life
• Malaria parasites soften our cells’ defences in order to invade
• Scientists collaborate on aquatic ecology experiments across Europe
• Drones that detect early plant disease could save crops
• A lead candidate for immunotherapy may increase tumour growth in certain cancers
• Female fruit flies become more aggressive towards each other after sex
• Malaria elimination project wins $17.5m funding boost
• First-ever look at DNA opening reveals initial stage of reading the genetic code
• Unlock molecular secrets with mobile game BioBlox2D
• How birds fly determines the shape of their eggs *
• Why T. Rex and elephants lumber behind cheetahs
• Young scientists bring their anti-malaria invention to Imperial *
• Trigger for weapons of bacterial warfare uncovered
• Sustainable fish farming is possible for the majority of coastal countries
• Bacterial machines that help create defensive ‘mats’ mapped by researchers
• When collecting bird sperm, method matters
• Leaf size shrinks with latitude to avoid cold snaps
• Birds’ unique skulls linked to young dinosaur brains
• Sexually aroused male flies unable to sleep after close encounters with females *
• Mini robotic labs for testing fly behaviour invented by Imperial researchers
• Herbivores help protect marine ecosystems from climate change
• Global biodiversity conservation does save species, but could be done smarter
• Fragmented forests create animal winners and losers
• Imperial stem cell and leukaemia expert wins prestigious medal
• Medium-sized carnivores most at risk from environmental change
• Who’s the boss: researchers reveal how to analyse animal hierarchies
• Toxic agents behind Parkinson’s disease seen at work for the first time
• Leukaemia treatment can be made more effective by using a drug for iron overload
• How bacteria turbocharged their motors
• 10 years measuring membranes at the Diamond Light Source
• We still don’t know how strange celibate animals evolve
• Why do older male birds father more illegitimate children?
• Pollution hits the fungi that nourish European trees *
• New type of photosynthesis discovered
• Collecting bacterial communities from puddles helps solve ecosystem riddles
• Sister species of birds reveal clues to how biodiversity evolves
• Combining different malaria vaccines could reduce cases by 91 per cent
• Stubborn sparrows may have sung the same songs for hundreds of years
• City bees outbreed their country cousins
• Bacteria can ‘divide and conquer’ to vanquish their enemies
• Immune cells can switch from ‘gang members’ to ‘police officers’
• How plants use carbon affects their response to climate change
• Removing malaria-carrying mosquitoes unlikely to affect ecosystems, says report
• The more pesticides bees eat, the more they like them *
• Marine ‘biodiversity crisis’ tackled with new database of conservation plans
• Drugs that stop mosquitoes catching malaria could help eradicate the disease
• Mosquitoes that can carry malaria eliminated in lab experiments *
• New way to look at cell membranes could change the way we study disease
• Oxygen could have been available to life as early as 3.5 billion years ago
• School biology teaching given a helping hand with molecular game and software
• Lack of sleep is not necessarily fatal for flies *
• Pesticides found to affect bees’ genes
• Only 149 trees of a wild apple species found alive
• Starving bacteria can eject their tails to save energy and stay alive
• Scientists trial drones to protect coffee plants from devastating fungal disease
• Livestream the sounds of the rainforest and hear what changes logging makes *
• Pesticide exposure causes bumblebee flight to fall short
• New film of immune system killing bacteria could point to new therapies
• Birds outside their comfort zone are more vulnerable to deforestation
• Strange bacteria hint at ancient origin of photosynthesis
• What a group of bizarre-looking bats can tell us about the evolution of mammals *
  

Energy and environment

• Scientists need to be smart about environmental targets
• Warm ocean water is making Antarctic glacier vulnerable to significant melting
• Extra carbon dioxide good for plants but bad for our water supply
• Calculator shows planned emissions cuts can’t prevent dangerous global warming
• Solar subsidy cuts will deny UK industry reduced wholesale electricity prices
• To clean up ocean plastics focus on coasts, not the Great Pacific garbage patch *
• Climate models hindered by inaccurate UV satellite measurements
• Pigeon patrol gives air pollution study a flying start
• Scientists predict extensive ice loss from huge Antarctic glacier *
• New tool can calculate renewable energy output anywhere in the world
• New grant will allow citizen science network to bring people closer to nature
• Global methane emissions are rising faster than any time in the past 20 years
• Greenland’s ice sheet closely tracks global climate changes
• Floating plastic pollution from Europe and the US is accumulating in the Arctic
• Best ways to remove greenhouse gases to be investigated with new £2m grant
• Wind turbines can pick up the slack on coldest days
• New way to predict when electric cars and home batteries become cost effective
• European cooperation could provide more stable wind power
• Health impacts of climate change already felt today
• Wave energy needs EU funds and innovation to deliver low-carbon power for UK
• Explore the environment in your area with interactive citizen science map
• Students help international effort to track pollution across Europe
• Carbon capture is helped by oil revenue, but it may not be enough
• Untouched forests fight climate change, but face threats
• Ozone at lower latitudes is not recovering, despite Antarctic ozone hole healing *
• Open Air Laboratories empower a million new citizen scientists to explore nature
• Global conservation goals may fall short without protection of intact forests
• Prince Albert of Monaco: ‘Blue economy’ must be a priority to conserve the ocean
• Running on renewables: how sure can we be about the future?
• Global carbon emissions could be cut 3% by following the UK’s example *
• Actual fossil fuel emissions checked with new technique
• Small changes in rainforests cause big damage to fish ecosystems
• Conservation efforts could be improved with more accurate species loss estimates
• Don’t wait for a unicorn: investing in low-carbon tech now will save money
• ‘Deforestation-free’ palm oil not as simple as it sounds
• Construction delays make new nuclear power plants costlier than ever
• Transforming our lives can limit global warming to 1.5C without new technology
• How to save Antarctica (and the rest of Earth too) *
• Greener energy generation alone will not help us reach climate goals
• Promoting cycling in cities can tackle obesity
• Using ‘shade balls’ in reservoirs may use up more water than they save
• Wind and solar power could provide more than a third of Europe’s energy by 2030
• Cycling is the healthiest way to get around cities
• First annual Green Great Britain Week launches at Imperial
• Cause of long, potentially damaging channels on Antarctic ice shelves found
• Swapping coal for carbon-capture technologies could boost US employment
• Batteries predicted to become the cheapest option for storing electricity
• Wildfire research centre to launch with £10m from the Leverhulme Trust
• Extreme rainfall events are connected across the world
• Eating insects makes sense. So why don’t we? *
• The best marine protected areas also promote human wellbeing
• Plants could remove six years of carbon dioxide emissions – if we protect them
  

Chemistry and maths

• Protein-mapping technique could pave the way for new drugs
• Scholarship programme builds bridges between farmers and leading researchers
• Scientists discover why next-gen solar cells break down in days
• Professors in Mathematics and Chemistry honoured with Royal Society Fellowships
• Researcher wins grant to untangle the wires of bacterial metabolism
• Strategies for tackling drug-resistant bugs put to the test by maths models
• Imperial chemist receives WISE award for eco-plastics start-up
• Detection of molecules important for healthcare could soon be 1000 times faster
• Artificial photosynthesis a step closer with new process
• Newly created ‘sandwich rings’ could lead to better computers *
• Genes find their partners without matchmakers
• Mapping signal paths in proteins could reveal new direction for drug development
• New sensor material could enable more sensitive readings of biological signals
• Spinning semen provides a measurement of fertility *
• Why pints spill but straws don’t: researchers uncover the science of spilling *
• Award-winning mathematician returns to Imperial for a celebration of statistics
• Alternative solar cells ramp up efficiency and stability
• Researchers collaborate with company to speed up the design of metamaterials
• Explosions, Nobel Prizes and poems: a history of the Department of Chemistry *
• Data set to improve engineering through new £10m programme
• Q&A with Ghanaian science luminary promoting maths in the developing world *
• Predictive policing research gets a boost from £3m grant
• Imperial students collaborate on drug discovery for neglected diseases *
• Next-gen solar cells could be improved by atomic-scale redesign
• Smart detectors set to monitor urban bat life
• Self-assembling nanoparticle arrays can switch between a mirror and a window
• Copying nature’s lock-and-key system could improve rapid medical diagnostics
• Artificial cell design gets a boost with the launch of FABRICELL
• Fields medallist mathematician joins Imperial
• Leading causes of ‘avoidable blindness’ identified as cases set to increase
• The world’s first 3D printed steel bridge will be a ‘living laboratory’
• Early disease diagnosis could be dramatically improved with new detection system
• Blurring the boundaries between living and non-living with new PhD programme
• Simple arsenic sensor could save lives
• Artificial and biological cells work together as mini chemical factories
• Collaboration could help botanic compound tackle breast cancer and stroke
• Reading of biological molecules improved up to 100x by doubling the sensors
• New class of drugs could help tackle treatment-resistant cancers
• Mini tractor beams help arrange artificial cells into tissue structures *
• Molecule that acts on human cells might provide hope for irresistible cold cure *
• Artificial cells-in-cells triggered by light act as mini chemical reactors
• Managing inheritance of deadly genetic diseases a step closer with new study
• Printable solar cells a step closer with new design principles
• Draw-your-own electrodes set to speed up development of micro detection devices
• Cells decide when to divide based on their internal clocks
• Nanoscale tweezers can perform single-molecule ‘biopsies’ on individual cells
• Answering the mystery of what atoms do when liquids and gases meet
• Black-hole mathematician wins exceptional young scientist award
• Elephantiasis and river blindness could be eliminated faster with new molecule
• Bringing electricity and chemistry together with a £1.6M project
• First-of-its-kind automatic chemistry facility opens at Imperial
• Advanced chemistry made possible with new suite of start-of-the-art instruments
• The story of chemistry comes to life as Imperial celebrates ChemFest
• Screening for rare but important disease ‘biomarkers’ gets an accuracy boost
• Decoy antibiotics could get around bacteria’s defences
• Washable, wearable battery-like devices could be woven directly into clothes
• Gene mutation to cope with modern diets may help protect against diabetes
• Researchers build artificial cells that sense and respond to their environment *
  

Other science

• Fossil parasite discovery reveals missing evolutionary step
• Ancient ‘Kite Runner’ kept its young on a tether
• Scientists closer to understanding how the ear perceives speech
• Car drivers are four kilograms heavier than cyclists, new study reveals
• A handful of nuts a day cuts the risk of a wide range of diseases *
• The brains of alcohol dependents and binge drinkers may recover differently
• Six ways Imperial researchers are working to eliminate malaria *
• Personalised heart disease diagnosis gets a boost with new collaboration
• Underwater volcano behaviour captured by timely scientific expedition
• Volcanoes fed by ‘mush’ reservoirs rather than molten magma chambers *
• Dinosaurs were thriving before asteroid strike that wiped them out *
• Cities of the future could be built by robots mimicking nature
• Supercomputers use graphics processors to solve longstanding turbulence question
  

College and campus

• Former astronaut Helen Sharman finds a new space at Imperial *
• Top physicist John Pendry takes a slice of $1 million Dan David prize
• Britain’s first astronaut celebrates 25 years since her pioneering mission
• Researchers look to the future of imaging science at the World Economic Forum
• Imperial professor set to steer the UK Space Agency *
• Stephen Hawking talks black holes and the quantum world at sell-out lecture *
• Imperial scientists help to define the fourth industrial revolution
• Imperial recognised for openness on animal research
• Top astronomical prize for space mission leader
• Fund for European research partnerships awards first nine grants
• Inventions and innovations showcased at the Imperial Festival
• Professor Sir Gordon Conway honoured with top geographical prize
• Imperial researchers awarded Royal Society of Chemistry prizes
• Three Imperial researchers elected Fellows of the Royal Society
• Imperial’s everyday heroes celebrated with photo exhibition
• Imperial physicist wins first-of-its-kind science prize
• “Don’t be afraid to get lost” says Nobel laureate at Imperial lecture
• Eminent physicist Professor Sir Tom Kibble memorialised with new portrait
• Imperial partners with Agilent to boost molecular research and innovation
• Imperial professors pay tribute to their former teacher Stephen Hawking
• Imperial Festival is open! Get your science fix at this year’s event
• Top honours for three Imperial chemists
• Climate and materials experts elected as Fellows of the Royal Society
• Outstanding research projects and people recognised in 2018 President’s Awards
• Future of farming explored at the launch of new College network
• Imperial’s scientific glassblower talks about his life’s work before retirement *
• Four academics awarded Institute of Physics medals
• Royal Society medals go to three Imperial academics
• Expanded Centre for Synthetic Biology launches at Imperial
• Imperial wins funding to train hundreds of PhD students at six new centres
• Imperial professor honoured with plaque from the Association of Jewish Refugees
• Climate champion Jo Haigh retires after 35 years at Imperial *
• Centre for Synthetic Biology gains an Entrepreneur in Residence
• Professor Tom Welton elected Royal Society of Chemistry president
  

podcast

• Ocean water melting Antarctic ice sheet
• Expedition to sample the Chicxulub crater
• Expansion of the OPAL citizen science programme
• The chemist who went to space *
• Using 3D printing to improve joint surgery
• The Heart and Lung Convenience Store
• Ebola vaccine diaries episode 1 *
• Ebola vaccine diaries episode 2 *
• Ebola vaccine diaries episode 3 *
• Five years since Fukushima
• Searching for the Northern Lights
• Mission to the ice giants *
• Diamond solar cells
• Wall of knowledge
• Silwood Park field trip
• Steering UK space
• Mammals on the edge
• Rosetta’s last mission and extended version: Rosetta comet-chasing mission comes to a dramatic end *
• How planets are born *
• The future of biotechnology
• Urban cosmic dust *
• Diet drinks and weight
• Comedy with the Lol-LaB
• Research adventures on Everest *
• Cassini’s farewell *
• Exploring caves and extended version On expedition with the caving club *
• A tour around the Imperial universe
• Alumni authors
• Antibiotics amnesty on film
• How environment affects health
• Making maths connections
• Keeping the lights on in Cameroon
• The Parenting Science Gang *
• Hunting an asteroid crater
• 50 years of glassblowing
• Sparrow songs
• Imperial during the First World War
• Shopping habits
• Have a safe flight
• Tune into the rainforest *
• Climate champion retires
• Alcohol marketing and children
• Spoken-word scientist
• Future of space travel with Britain's first astronaut *
• Human-robotic interactions in space
  

Top image credit: Thomas Angus/Imperial College London