Tackling COVID-19: Dr Charlotte Summers
An intensive care specialist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Charlotte Summers has spent the past few months dealing with the biggest challenge of her career. And after long, exhausting days, the weekly Clap for Carers caught her by surprise.
PhD team to help refugee camps contain COVID-19
A team of three PhD students has been awarded business-led innovation funding by Innovate UK. Jennifer Ward George, Victor Parchment, and Alex Tsompanidis will work together on an inventive software platform known as SOAP to help control the spread of COVID-19 in displaced communities and refugee camps.
Call for photographs for Open Cambridge online gallery
Photographs for an online gallery at this year’s Open Cambridge weekend (11th – 13th September) are now being accepted in an open call to the public.
Secrets of naked mole-rat cancer resistance unearthed
Naked mole-rats can live for an incredibly long time and have an exceptional resistance to cancer thanks to unique conditions in their bodies that stop cancer cells multiplying, according to new research.
Women who experience high blood pressure during pregnancy are more likely to develop heart disease
Women who experience high blood pressure during pregnancy are more likely to develop heart disease and heart failure in later life, according to an international team of researchers.
Playtime with dad may improve children’s self-control
Children whose fathers make time to play with them from a very young age may find it easier to control their behaviour and emotions as they grow up, research suggests.
New artificial heart valve could transform open-heart surgery
A new type of artificial heart valve, made of long-lived polymers, could mean that millions of patients with diseased heart valves will no longer require lifelong blood-thinning medication after valve replacement surgery.
Human interactions with wild and farmed animals must change dramatically to reduce risk of another deadly pandemic
Compiled by a team of international wildlife and veterinary experts, a new study has identified seven routes by which pandemics could occur and 161 options for reducing the risk. It concludes that widespread changes to the way we interact with animals are needed; solutions that only address one issue – such as the trade in wild animals – are not enough.
Genomes front and centre of rare disease diagnosis
Cambridge-led study discovers new genetic causes of rare diseases, potentially leading to improved diagnosis and better patient care.
Tackling COVID-19: Dr Sharath Srinivasan
“Without trust, we don’t flatten the curve,” says Sharath Srinivasan, whose work in developing countries has given him an acute insight into how people’s worldviews and perspectives affect who and what they choose to trust. Through a new communications tool he’s helping to engage communities in Somalia so that COVID-19 risks are communicated effectively and rumours are quashed.
New programme to accelerate AI research capability at Cambridge
A new initiative at Cambridge will equip young researchers outside computer science with the skills they need to use machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques to power their research.
Faulty brain processing of new information underlies psychotic delusions, finds new research
Problems in how the brain recognizes and processes novel information lie at the root of psychosis, researchers from the University of Cambridge and King’s College London have found. Their discovery that defective brain signals in patients with psychosis could be altered with medication paves the way for new treatments for the disease.
Stigma of broken family relationships compounded by lockdown
Lockdown restrictions have not brought estranged family members closer together, and recent focus on the importance of family support has made dealing with the pandemic even more difficult for those with challenging family situations, a new study has found.
Blood test to monitor cancer up to ten times more sensitive than current methods
A new method of analysing cancer patients’ blood for evidence of the disease could be up to ten times more sensitive than previous methods according to new research led by the University of Cambridge.
Tackling COVID-19: Professor Ravi Gupta
“This virus is probably going to be circulating for years - it will take a long time to sort out.” In a building that has been largely empty for the past three months, Ravi Gupta has been working non-stop alongside other virus experts.
Open Cambridge to host virtual tours and tales of the city
The hugely popular Open Cambridge heritage weekend is set to go ahead this year on 11th – 13th September with a series of free online events, from podcasts and films to virtual tours, written stories, walks and talks. Each virtual event promises a unique insight into this fascinating city and its storied streets full of history and culture at every turn.
People in England’s poorest towns ‘lose over a decade of good health’, research finds
Cambridge researchers find major health inequalities – as well as a geographic divide – between the most and least deprived English towns. They say that life expectancy in cities is now overtaking towns for the first time.
UK modelling study finds case isolation and contact tracing vital to COVID-19 epidemic control
In the absence of a vaccine or highly effective treatments for COVID-19, combining isolation and intensive contact tracing with physical distancing measures—such as limits on daily social or workplace contacts—might be the most effective and efficient way to achieve and maintain epidemic control, according to new modelling research.
Professor David Abulafia awarded Wolfson History Prize 2020
Abulafia wins for his epic history of humanity’s relationship with the world’s oceans, 'The Boundless Sea'.
AI reduces ‘communication gap’ for nonverbal people by as much as half
Researchers have used artificial intelligence to reduce the ‘communication gap’ for nonverbal people with motor disabilities who rely on computers to converse with others.
Striking differences revealed in COVID-19 mortality between NHS trusts
A University of Cambridge team led by Professor Mihaela van der Schaar and intensive care consultant Dr Ari Ercole of the Cambridge Centre for AI in Medicine (CCAIM) is calling for urgent research into the striking differences in COVID-19 deaths they have discovered between the intensive care units of NHS trusts across England.
MRC Fellowship awarded to Cambridge neuroscientist for research into pain
Dr Flavia Mancini has been announced a Medical Research Council (MRC) Career Development Fellow and will establish her first independent research group, tasked with improving our understanding of the brain mechanisms that mediate pain.
High doses of ketamine can temporarily switch off the brain, say researchers
Researchers have identified two brain phenomena that may explain some of the side-effects of ketamine. Their measurements of the brain waves of sheep sedated by the drug may explain the out-of-body experience and state of complete oblivion it can cause.
Widespread facemask use could shrink the ‘R’ number and prevent a second COVID-19 wave – study
Even basic homemade masks significantly reduce transmission at a population level, according to latest modelling. Researchers call for information campaigns that encourage the making and wearing of facemasks.
Improved MRI scans could aid in development of arthritis treatments
An algorithm that analyses MRI images and automatically detects small changes in knee joints over time could be used in the development of new treatments for arthritis.