Institute of Astronomy

News and Press Releases

Virtual Reality Tumour

Published on 10/02/2017 

CREATING A VIRTUAL REALITY TUMOUR

IMAXT: imaging and molecular annotation of xenografts and tumors

 
To fully understand cancer, scientists need to know everything about a tumour – what types of cells are in it, how many there are, what they are doing and where they are located in the tumour. Having such a detailed picture of a tumour would allow scientists and doctors to develop new ways to diagnose and treat the disease, and new ways to stop it spreading and coming back.
 

The death of a planet nursery?

Published on 22/09/2016 

Planetary disc around the star known as TW Hydrae. Source: S. Andrews (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA); B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF); ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

The dusty disc surrounding the star TW Hydrae exhibits circular features that may signal the formation of protoplanets. Cambridge astronomer Giovanni Rosotti is one of a team of astronomers led by LMU astrophysicist Barbara Ercolano who argue that the innermost feature actually points to the impending dispersal of the disc.

Astronomers identify a young heavyweight star in the Milky Way

Published on 19/08/2016 

Astronomers identify a young heavyweight star in the Milky Way

A young star over 30 times more massive than the Sun could help us understand how the most extreme stars in the Universe are born.

The First Atmospheric Study of Earth-Sized Exoplanets

Published on 19/07/2016 

First atmospheric study of Earth-sized exoplanets excites researchers

Two Earth-sized exoplanets have become the first rocky worlds to have their atmospheres studied using the Hubble Space Telescope.

Planets similar to Jupiter are likely able to form on orbits shorter than the Earth’s

Published on 15/07/2016 

Planets similar to Jupiter are likely able to form on orbits shorter than the Earth's

After analyzing four years of Kepler space telescope observations, astronomers from the University of Toronto, and of the University of Cambridge have given us our clearest understanding yet of a class of exoplanets called “warm Jupiters”, showing that many have unexpected planetary companions