Queen Mary Faculty of Science and Engineering

Queen Mary early-career researchers awarded prestigious European Research Council Starting Grants

Congratulations to Dr Marc Fernández-Yagüe (School of Physical and Chemical Sciences) who has received a European Research Council Starting Grant.

A fantastic achievement and recognition of Queen Mary’s research strength in materials chemistry.

Find out more: tinyurl.com/bde9yh79

Black square with the writing 'Queen Mary University of London Shortlisted for University of the Year' written on it in white, along with the Time Higher Education Awards 2025 logo in gold and white.

Queen Mary is delighted to be a ‘University of the Year’ finalist in the #THEAwards!

And we’re so proud Professors @larschittka.bsky.social and @alastairhackney.bsky.social have been shortlisted for Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year. @timeshighered.bsky.social.

tinyurl.com/ebe8yx23

People with sensitive personalities more likely to experience mental health problems

A new study from our researchers shows that highly sensitive people are more likely to experience mental health problems compared to less sensitive people.

The findings suggest these individuals could benefit more from interventions like mindfulness.

shorturl.at/IHUsD @qmul.bsky.social

Fantastic to see this paper in @nature.com, co-authored by @qmul.bsky.social researchers, showing how arrow worms invent new genes!

Svalbard winter warming is reaching melting point - Nature Communications The Arctic winters are changing fast. In February 2025, Svalbard endured rain, thawing tundra, and pooling meltwater. The Comment by Bradley and coauthors describes how winter warming is reshapin...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Arctic winter is changing fast. In February 2025, #Svalbard saw rain, thawing tundra, and pooling meltwater. The comment by Bradley and co-authors shows how winter #warming is reshaping #polar ecosystems—and why this is the new #Arctic.

"The gear I packed felt like a relic from another climate." – @drbradbrad.bsky.social‬, on a shocking February in #Svalbard. The new Nature Comms commentary reveals the #Arctic winter reaching its melting point, with widespread thaw & vegetation bloom. Read more: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Evolution of temperature preference behaviour among Drosophila larvae Biological sciences; Entomology; Evolutionary biology

Big insights into how animals adapt to a changing climate, published in @cp-iscience.bsky.social by Dr Roman Arguello & team at @qmulsbbs.bsky.social!

www.cell.com/iscience/abs...

If you're melting, take comfort: even fruit flies are apparently over this heatwave. 🫠
A fantastic new study shows how #Drosophila larvae have repeatedly evolved to pick their perfect temperature, essentially "fine-tuning" their comfort zone.
Read more: www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2...

Brilliant to see this fascinating research! We're especially delighted to see @ehowaspi.bsky.social, visiting researcher at the @qmulsbbs.bsky.social, contributing to this amazing study.

Scientists Probe Caffeine’s Hidden Benefits Hey, it's Tim in Munich, where I'm feeling rather virtuous right now about my morning coffee habit. But first ...

Our very own Dr Babis Rallis's fascinating work on #caffeine and #cellularageing has been featured in Bloomberg. Beyond just a morning boost, new insights suggest caffeine could play a role in slowing cellular ageing.
Find out more about this exciting research: www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

This discovery, published in Physical Review X, offers a unique natural laboratory to study complex processes with implications extending far beyond our own star to other hot, diffuse astrophysical plasmas across the universe.
journals.aps.org/prx/abstract...

Pioneering space probe reveals secrets of mysterious solar barrier

Researchers at @qmulspcs.bsky.social confirmed the "helicity barrier" in solar wind using NASA Parker Solar Probe data. This explains why the Sun's atmosphere is millions of degrees hotter than its surface! A breakthrough for space weather & astrophysics.

Read more: www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2...

Smaller islands offer crucial refuge for endangered mammals in Wallacea, Indonesia A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that smaller islands within the Wallacea biodiversity hotspot are crucial refuges for endangered vertebrates, providing higher-quality habitats and supporting populations.

Smaller islands in Wallacea, Indonesia, provide vital, higher-quality habitats for endangered mammals, highlighting the importance of targeted conservation and habitat protection on these landmasses. doi.org/g9rdch

Picture of a green European Ash tree, in front of a blue sky.

Researchers from Queen Mary and Kew Gardens, have found that natural selection is working to combat the devastating ash dieback disease.

Find out more: www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2...

Researchers uncover link between ADHD and severe premenstrual disorder in women

A new study led by our researchers finds women with ADHD could be 3x more likely to have PMDD — a severe premenstrual disorder with serious health impacts.

Even undiagnosed ADHD symptoms = higher risk.

Find out more: www.qmul.ac.uk/sbbs/news/it...

@agnewblais.bsky.social @qmulse.bsky.social

Professor Andrew Livingston celebrated for double honours in chemical engineering

Congratulations to Professor Andrew Livingston, VP for Research & Innovation at Queen Mary, who has been recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Chemical Engineering Council and has secured a major grant from @ukri.org's EPSRC! www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2...

Blue background with picture of the Queen's Building at Queen Mary University of London, and yellow text which reads 'Up 35 places since 2024, now ranked 110th in the world'. Also white Queen Mary logo and Russel Group logo.

Queen Mary has risen 35 places in two years in the QS league table.

We’re now ranked 110th in the world according to QS, and for the second year, a top 100 university globally and top 10 in the UK by @usnews.com

Learn more: www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2...

Expert panellists have recognised Queen Mary’s innovation and research excellence at the University’s Research and Innovation Awards.

Judges were incredibly impressed by the high standard of submissions and positive impact of their work.

www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2...

Robotic hand with unprecedented tactile sensitivity achieves human-like dexterity in real-world tasks Researchers have unveiled a robotic hand, the F-TAC Hand, which integrates high-resolution tactile sensing across an unprecedented 70% of its surface area, allowing for human-like adaptive grasping.

A robotic hand featuring high-resolution tactile sensing across 70% of its surface achieves human-like dexterity and adaptive grasping, outperforming previous systems in dynamic real-world tasks. doi.org/g9psjw

Cellular scaffolding secrets unlocked: scientists discover key to microtubule growth

Ever wonder how your cells build themselves? 🤔 New research from @qmulsbbs.bsky.social & @dundee.ac.uk, out in @pnas.org, reveals the key mechanism behind microtubule growth. It's crucial for understanding cell division and has potential impacts on cancer treatments. www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2...

Effective polarization in potassium channel simulations: Ion conductance, occupancy, voltage response, and selectivity | PNAS Potassium (K+) channels are widely distributed in many types of organisms. They combine high efficiency (~100 pS) and K+/Na+ selectivity by a conse...

Read more about this incredible leap: www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2...
Find the @pnas.org paper here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Scientists from @mpi-nat.bsky.social & @qmul.ac.uk cracked the code on ion channel currents with atomic-level accuracy. As Dr @wojciechkopec.bsky.social says, this "opens up entirely new avenues for studying physiology and developing therapeutics."

Exploring the Structural Diversity and Evolution of the D1 Subunit of Photosystem II Using AlphaFold and Foldtree Although our knowledge of photosystem II has expanded to include time-resolved atomic details, the diversity of experimental structures of the enzyme remains limited. Recent advances in protein struc...

Our paper on testing #Alphafold predictions and structural phylogenetics of a #photosystem subunit is now published in @pplplantarum.bsky.social. Work by @tomdongmin.bsky.social, with JW Murray & D Pretorius at Imperial. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @qmulse.bsky.social @qmul.ac.uk 🌳

Blown away by Prof @venetosmani.com's talk! His work on using sensor data from smartphones to predict health changes is incredible.
He shared how they detected stress levels from how people hold their phones and even observed stress contagion! This is the power of #ClinicalAI in action.

What are the most challenging questions AI faces today?

Laura Herman (‪Head of AI Research at Adobe‬) focused on making AI handle tedious administrative tasks while exposing system complexity, and ensuring non-Western perspectives are genuinely included in AI development.

What are the most challenging questions AI faces today?

Prof Simone Stumpf pointed to the challenge of translating human values like fairness into quantifiable AI metrics, and preventing populist biases in AI decision-making.

What are the most challenging questions AI faces today?

Prof Greg Slabaugh highlighted AI's role in environmental solutions, like screening for nano-catalysts to convert CO2, emphasising the need for active AI solutions to climate change.

From defining common vocabularies to explicit positionality reflection, the consensus of the panel with David Leslie, Greg Slabaugh, Simone Stumpf, and Laura Herman was clear: interdisciplinarity is a participatory science that requires active and reflective engagement from all involved.

"New technologies are made, not introduced" - a powerful takeaway from Prof @ginasue.bsky.social's talk. She discussed how industries grapple with automating tech, sharing lessons from 16+ years of following digital transformation in architecture and civil engineering.
#ResponsibleAI #AIethics

Next up, Profs Cédric John and Greg Slabaugh are showcasing the power of AI: from outperforming human accuracy in geological classification to using object detection for healthcare data analysis and building multimodal AI systems. Learning about the frontiers of digital tech!