Imperial News

Podcast: Virtual reality for vertigo, feather power and Rosetta's last mission

by Hayley Dunning, Gareth Mitchell

In this edition: Testing virtual reality to overcome visual vertigo, making use of waste chicken feathers and crashing the Rosetta spacecraft.

The podcast is presented by Gareth Mitchell, a lecturer on Imperial's Science Communication MSc course and the presenter of Click Radio on the BBC World Service, with contributions from our roaming reporters.

Download the complete podcast (mp3)

OR LISTEN TO INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS

News: Preventing childhood allergies and secrets of the space blob – Research reveals that feeding babies egg and peanut earlier may help prevent food allergies, and a mysterious space blob is found to have a huge galaxy cluster forming in its centre.

Virtual reality for vertigo – After certain ear conditions, some patients find supermarket aisles or busy transport hubs make them feel incredibly dizzy. Can virtual reality help retrain their brains?

Sustainable feather power – Billions of chicken feathers go to waste every year, but Imperial students have been creating innovative uses for them, including insulation, water repellent coatings and structural support for concrete.

Rosetta’s last mission – The Rosetta spacecraft has spent the last two years orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and it has one last task before running out of energy: slamming into the surface of the comet, collecting data as it goes.