Imperial Life Sciences

Plants could sustain humans on the Moon, Mars and beyond Plants could play a central role in sustaining human life on the Moon, Mars and beyond, according to a new international Viewpoint.

Plants could be key to sustaining humans on the Moon, Mars and beyond. A new international Viewpoint from @gsena.bsky.social outlines how experimental “space crops” could become full life-support systems and sets a roadmap for long-duration missions:

www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...

Researchers call for urgent action on ecological feedbacks in Earth system science A new review shows that ecological feedbacks, the ways that living organisms shape and respond to their environment, are essential for regulating the...

New review from @drplanktonpoo.bsky.social & @jjwilliams924.bsky.social shows ecological feedbacks are important for climate, chemical cycles & ecosystem stability, but often simplified in Earth System Models - urgent action is needed.

www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...

What does birdwatching mean to you? - British Ornithologists' Union Thoughts from Silwood Park Conservation Club

🐦 What does birdwatching mean to you?

#OurImperial Silwood Park Conservation Club share their thoughts on the joys of spotting, studying & connecting with birds in their natural habitats. Discover why birdwatching is more than a hobby, it’s a way to connect with nature.

bou.org.uk/blog-fortune...

Ever wondered how a cell “decides” its fate? 🧬

In this Epigenetics podcast, Srinjan Basu @srinjan.bsky.social takes us inside the 3D world of the genome, revealing how chromatin architecture and epigenetic mechanisms orchestrate developmental gene expression.

www.activemotif.com/podcasts-sri...

BBC Radio 4 - What's Up Docs?, Does your immune system need boosting? Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken want to know how to navigate immune health.

Does your immune system need a boost? 🦠
Our Head of Department @dandavis101.bsky.social is featured on What's Up Docs? where Chris & Xand dive into the biology of immunity, how immune systems differ, what can go wrong & which health myths need busting. Check it out:

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

PacBio Long‑Read Sequencing Seminar We’re thrilled to count down the final 10 days until our special seminar with PacBio and Dr. Tom Parks, focusing on the latest advances in high‑accuracy long‑read sequencing. Join us on Friday, 27 Feb...

Join a special seminar with PacBio and Dr. Tom Parks, focusing on the latest advances in high‑accuracy long‑read sequencing!

Register: www.imperial.ac.uk/events/20599...

Life Sciences Students – we need your voice!

Take 2 mins to complete the anonymous Race Equality Charter Survey 2026 📝
Your feedback = better support, more inclusion & real change at Imperial!

🎁 5 students will win £50 e-gift cards!

📅 Open til 1 Mar | 🔗
imperial.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

2 new Coprosma species (flowering shrubs) from Lord Howe Island have been published by a team from Imperial's Silwood Park.

Coprosma savolainenii was named by Ian Hutton (Lord Howe Island Museum) for the Georgina Mace Centre's Director Prof Vincent Savolainen.

🔗 academic.oup.com/botlinnean/a...

Scientists reveal how sleeping sickness parasites control their surface coat Researchers have revealed how parasites hide thousands of antigens behind a single-colour coat and how disrupting this control could make the parasit...

New PNAS study identifies ESBX, a protein controlling which surface coat gene is active in sleeping sickness parasites - key to immune evasion.

@tiengwe-tryplab.bsky.social
@zephyris-science.bsky.social
@fariatrypslab.bsky.social

www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...

🚀 StudentShapers launches Student-Initiated Pathway

@imperiallifesci.bsky.social students can now lead innovative projects in partnership with staff to enhance education at Imperial.

Submit your proposal here: 🔗 www.imperial.ac.uk/students/stu...

Will vitamin c cure your cold? - Think Daniel M. Davis is head of life sciences and professor of immunology at Imperial College London. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the facts vs. myths of keeping your immune system healthy.

@dandavis101.bsky.social on NPR radio discussing what really keeps our immune system healthy and why 'boosting' it isn’t always the answer! His book, Self-Defense, is out now and explores the science behind immune health and challenges common misconceptions.

think.kera.org/2026/01/14/w...

NBIC Expands National Consortia with Sixth Accession Round - NBIC The National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC) Expands National Consortia - welcoming 10 additional UK research institutions.

The National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC) has completed its sixth accession round, welcoming 10 new UK universities and strengthening its role as a national hub for biofilm research and innovation.

biofilms.ac.uk/nbic-expands...

£3.7 million project to unlock secrets of deep coral reefs Researchers are launching a major new project to investigate the resilience of deeper coral ecosystems to future climate change.

🌊 New research into deep coral reefs & climate change 🌍

Dr Emma Ransome and colleagues in @imperiallifesci.bsky.social sky.social begin a £3.7m project exploring the resilience of deep (mesophotic) coral reefs.

www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...

#MarineScience #ClimateAction

Are you researching climate science and solutions at Imperial?

Take part in the Climate Research Showcase!

Present your research, host a workshop and connect with climate experts from across college working to advance multidisciplinary climate research and action.

ow.ly/RC6w50XHj4a

#Cancer evolves like an ecosystem🌳- can #maths & #AI help us treat it smarter?

@stroblmar.bsky.social, an Eric & Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Fellow at @imperial-ix.bsky.social and @icr.ac.uk, is exploring how evolutionary modelling could personalise treatment and delay resistance

👉 bit.ly/3KtLdy0

In need of some new reading material for the holiday season?

Check out @dandavis101.bsky.social book Self Defence, one of the Daily Mail 9 best health books of the year!

Have a great break everyone 😀

www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/a...

Imperial-led project brings gene-drive mosquitoes closer to reality in Africa An Imperial-led project has made a major advancement in developing gene drive modified mosquitoes to eliminate malaria transmission in Africa.

Imperial-led researchers, working with partners in Tanzania, have developed the first gene-drive mosquitoes on African soil, showing they can block malaria parasites circulating in endemic settings. A major step toward new malaria control tools.

🔗 www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...

Genetic trick to make mosquitoes malaria resistant passes key test The rollout of a type of genetic technology called a gene drive for tackling malaria could be edging closer after a lab study supports its success

Hear from Professor George K. Christophides on Transmission Zero’s latest research, published today in @nature.com and featured in @newscientist.com!🧬

Read the New Scientist article here: bit.ly/44nqXER

Read the full Nature paper here: bit.ly/4rPAEG8

Want to know more about today’s Nature paper? 💡

Transmission Zero scientists have generated the first transgenic mosquitoes in Africa and shown that they’re effective in resisting malaria parasite infection.

Read the Imperial News Story here: bit.ly/3YhB8r4

#genedrive #malaria

Could mosquitoes help us in the fight against malaria? 🦟

Our new study shows how genetically modified mosquitoes could change the future of malaria control and elimination - with innovation and collaboration leading the way.

Read the paper here: bit.ly/4rPAEG8

Transmission Zero scientists achieve landmark breakthrough in the fight against malaria in Tanzania Our new study published in Nature marks a milestone for African-led innovation, as our researchers develop genetically modified mosquitoes capable of blocking malaria transmission in Tanzania.

In our latest blog, we unpack our new Nature paper, where our team have developed a strain of mosquito in Tanzania that can block malaria transmission - the first genetically modified mosquito ever to be created in Africa, by African researchers.

Read here: bit.ly/4p72aMF

#malaria #genedrive

New to Imperial? We want to hear from you. Share your thoughts in the Welcome Experience Survey by 15 December and help shape future Welcome seasons.

Your feedback already drives real change, from the revamped Welcome Fair to new spaces and digital tools that make campus life better for everyone.

Costs and consequences of immunity YouTube video by Imperial College London

Missed Professor Marc Dionne’s inaugural lecture on the costs and consequences of immunity? The recording is now online. Learn how immune responses protect us, why they’re costly, and how hosts cope with ever-changing infections.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=817L...

🪴 A £11.34 million gift from the Michael Uren Foundation is set to transform #OurImperial Silwood Park campus.

This generous support will go towards building a new, state-of-the-art research facility that aims to bridge the gap between lab and field.

www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...

BBC Radio 4 - Rare Earth, The Evolution of Evolution What would Darwin and the other great naturalists think of our world today?

🌍🧬 190 years after Darwin landed in Falmouth, we're still asking how his ideas hold up in a world reshaped by climate change & habitat loss. Check out BBC Radio 4 Rare Earth with our own Prof Armand Leroi, bringing insight into how evolution is playing out right now.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

New study published in Nature, led by PhD student Thomas Weeks and Professor Tobias shows human land-use change is eroding the vital ecological roles birds play, reducing ecosystem resilience.

www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...

Back again to chat about immune health!

Dinesh Aggarwal of the Centre for Bacterial Resistance Biology had a fantastic 3 days engaging with patients & the public across 3 clinical sites for #AMR Awareness Week, highlighting our new S. aureus human challenge model! 🌍💉
Big thanks to Robert Varro & Laura Alvarado Cruz for their support!

Orange juice won't cure your cold (but this might) – with Professor Daniel M. Davis - Liz Earle Wellbeing Leading immunologist Professor Daniel M. Davis joins Liz to bust immune health myths and reveal what really keeps you well this winter (spoiler: not orange juice).

Podcast chat about Immune Health with Liz Earle lizearlewellbeing.com/listen/healt...

The “power” of Africa’s wildlife in dramatic decline | Imperial News | Imperial College London Africa’s ecosystems have lost over a third of the energy they once had, with far-reaching impacts on biodiversity and human livelihoods.

🌍 Africa’s wildlife has lost over a third of its ecological energy since pre-colonial times, with elephants, rhinos & lions hit hardest.

A new Nature study by Imperial’s Professor Joe Tobias & Oxford reveals dramatic declines shaping ecosystems.

www.imperial.ac.uk/news/271193/...

#Biodiversity