Endurance rowing, parasites and clean clouds: News from the College

Here's a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial. From rowing the Atlantic, to uncovering how parasites move, here is some quick-read news from across the College. Endurance rowing - In December 2022, a team including a PhD candidate in the Department of Bioengineering tested their endurance by rowing unsupported across the Atlantic. For this extreme challenge, they teamed up with some researchers at Imperial, including OG Carbon , a startup founded by Owen Griffiths, a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemistry. During the 40-day journey, the team took daily urine samples and used OG Carbon's low-cost and compact electrode platform to test their haemolysis levels - a measure of how blood haemoglobin levels change as a result of excessive endurance exercise. During intense exercise, red blood cells can be damaged and rupture, which releases haemoglobin into the body. While haemoglobin is normally used to carry oxygen inside the red blood cell, outside it can be toxic and lead to kidney damage.