Addressing medicine’s gender data gap and microbes in space: News from Imperial

Imperial research on bacteriophages to treat cancer is recognised worldwide

Here’s a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial.

From new guidelines being adopted by UK government and charity funders on separating the effects of sex and gender in medical research, to the launch of a new drone hub testing robots that help sustainability scientists, and living microbes found on an asteroid sample, here is some quick-read news from across Imperial.

Asteroid microbes feeding on 'munchies'

Asteroid-living bacteria under the microscope

Researchers were surprised to find live microbes in a rock collected from space. The sample was retrieved on the Japanese Hayabusa 2 mission from asteroid 162173 Ryugu – a carbon-rich asteroid with an orbit similar to the Earth’s.

Dr Matthew Genge, the lead author of the study, said: “When we first looked at the sample, we were excited to see there were small rods and filaments of organic matter present on the surface. They were tiny structures, around one millionth of a metre in width – like microbes!”

Close up on bacteria under the microscope

Despite the team following strict protocols to avoid contaminating the sample with microbes from earth, the structures had grown after 20 days before starting to decline.

“These findings suggest what we found were terrestrial microbes that found a new home on an extraterrestrial rock full of organic materials they could take advantage of. Ryugu was literally ‘munchies from space’ for Earth microbes,” he said.

The study is published in Meteoritics and Planetary Science.

Addressing medicine’s gender data gap

Poor attention to sex and gender in medical research has led to critical gaps in evidence, with detrimental effects on health outcomes for all people, but particularly women and girls, as well as trans, non-binary and intersex people.

Up to now, most UK medical research has been conducted primarily with male participants, animals or cells, and studies rarely analyse data in a way that enables potential sex or gender differences in outcomes to be identified.

Robyn Norton, leader of the sex and gender research — Professor Robyn Norton

Now, government funders and charities contributing £4.1 billion per year to UK medical research will adopt sex and gender policy changes based on new guidelines published by The George Institute for Global Health’s Medical Science Sex and Gender Equity (MESSAGE) project, in partnership with Imperial.

Professor Robyn Norton, who is Founding Director of The George Institute, Emeritus Professor of Global Health at Imperial and co-principal investigator of the MESSAGE project, said, “The UK has one of the largest female health gaps globally, and many of these inequities stem from the earliest stages of medical research. By integrating sex and gender considerations into funding proposals, researchers will now be expected to design and conduct their research in a more equitable and scientifically robust manner.”

The policy framework was co-designed with representatives from across the UK research sector, including research funders, regulators, researchers, academic journals, patients, clinicians and government officials.

New sustainability robotics hub

A new drone hub dedicated to pioneering autonomous robots that work harmoniously within both natural and man-made environments has opened in Switzerland, founded by Imperial’s Professor Mirko Kovac.

Flying robots capable of inspecting and repairing building envelopes, interacting with natural ecosystems and monitoring climate change and biodiversity will be developed and tested at the cutting-edge facility by Imperial in a new partnership with Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Empa, and Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Eawag.

Video placeholder image — All about the new drone hub in Switzerland

Research at the new hub will support Kovac’s leadership in sustainability robotics to develop robotic applications for maintaining and repairing building structures as well as environmental sensing in wetlands and polar regions.

Professor Kovac said: “Robotics could redefine maintenance, inspection, and restoration practices in both natural and built environments, addressing critical challenges in biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation while reducing human risk and operational costs."

Phage researcher recognised

Professor Hajitou is a leader in his field Professor Amin Hajitou and his group, who use bacteriophages to treat cancer, have been highlighted as the most productive team in their field, worldwide.

Bacteriophages (pictured, top) are small viruses that can seek out and destroy cancerous cells within the body and hold out the prospect of more targeted cancer therapy than existing methods.

A paper in the journal Cancer Virotherapy examined research output and productivity over a period of 15 years in the field of in the field of bacteriophage and cancer.

Naming Professor Hajitou (pictured) as the world leader (most productive and collaborative) in the field of phage and tumour research, the editors noted: “Hajitou had an early insight into the ability of phages to target tumors”.

Prof Hajitou explained: “The very first publication in phage-gene therapy and cancer was my paper in Cell in 2006. Since then, it’s been very gratifying to see the field expanding worldwide to the point where we’re now seeing clinical trials in cancer patients. I’m happy that our position has been recognised internationally.”