Topic description and stories

From microscopic cells to massive galaxies, imaging is a core tool for many research fields today, and it’s also the basis of a surge in recent technical developments – some of which are being pioneered in Cambridge.

Gaia satellite

Gaia’s mission: solving the celestial puzzle

19 Dec 2013

A space mission to create the largest, most-accurate, map of the Milky Way in three dimensions has been launched today. Astronomers say the data...

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Left: Neuronal cells have ingested Tau protein, which appears in green (scale bar: 10 μm). Right: Optical super-resolution microscopy reveals that ingested protein (red) causes internal protein (green) to form fibrillar aggregates (scale bar: 500 nm).

Protein released from cells triggers chain reactions that could cause Alzheimer’s disease

27 Nov 2013

Researchers have shown that tiny quantities of the protein tau can be enough to kick-start an aggregation process which may explain the onset of...

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Cancer imaging centres get £35 million boost

29 Oct 2013

Cancer imaging is set to get a major boost from a £35 million nationwide initiative to develop cutting edge imaging technologies for basic and...

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Cluster of greatest grey matter volume reduction in patients with ADHD compared with control subjects located in the left middle frontal gyrus, overlaid on a rendered standardized brain template.

Imaging study shows dopamine dysfunction is not the main cause of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

28 Oct 2013

Research suggests that the main cause of the disorder may lie instead in structural differences in the grey matter in the brain.

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Fractal patterns spontaneously emerge during bacterial cell growth

11 Jun 2013

Scientists discover highly asymmetric and branched patterns are the result of physical forces and local instabilities; research has important...

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Shedding light on forests

21 May 2013

By using advanced imaging technology, scientists are able to map on an unprecedentedly large scale – and in remarkably accurate detail - what is...

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Planck captures portrait of the young Universe, revealing earliest light

21 Mar 2013

Satellite’s first all-sky image is the most detailed picture to date of the early Universe, giving us a better understanding of its birth.

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The spectacular star-forming Carina Nebula has been captured in great detail by the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory.

Cancer researchers and astronomers team up to beat cancer

20 Feb 2013

Cambridge scientists have honed techniques originally developed to spot distant galaxies and used them to identify biomarkers that signal a cancer’s...

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Finding malaria's weak spot

06 Feb 2013

A ground-breaking imaging system to track malarial infection of blood cells in real time has been created by a collaboration catalysed by the...

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Algal cell swimming towards a wall

Microswimmers hit the wall

07 Jan 2013

New research reveals what happens when swimming cells such as spermatozoa and algae hit a solid wall, and has implications for applications in...

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Dust ring around the star Fomalhaut taken by ALMA

Opening new windows on the Universe

20 Oct 2012

Advances in telescope technology being developed at Cambridge will drive a revolutionary period of discovery in astronomy.

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The Hours of Isabella Stuart

Science illuminating art

12 Oct 2012

Illuminated manuscripts are revealing their secret histories thanks to the application of techniques more commonly found in scientific laboratories...

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