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Nano ‘camera’ made using molecular glue allows real-time monitoring of chemical reactions.

Sep 3, 2021
3 min

Nano ‘camera’ made using molecular glue allows real-time monitoring of chemical reactions.

Researchers have made a tiny camera, held together with ‘molecular glue’ that allows them to observe chemical reactions in real time. The device, made by a team from the University of Cambridge, combines tiny semiconductor nanocrystals called quantum dots and gold nanoparticles using molecular glue called cucurbituril (CB). When added to water with the molecule to be studied, the components self-assemble in seconds into a stable, powerful tool that allows the real-time monito

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Artificial Intelligence could detect dementia years before symptoms appear.

Aug 13, 2021
3 min

Artificial Intelligence could detect dementia years before symptoms appear.

Dementias are characterised by the build-up of different types of protein in the brain, which damages brain tissue and leads to cognitive decline. In the case of Alzheimer’s disease, these proteins include beta-amyloid, which forms ‘plaques’, clumping together between neurons and affecting their function, and tau, which accumulates inside neurons. Molecular and cellular changes to the brain usually begin many years before any symptoms occur. Diagnosing dementia can take many

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University of Cambridge joins major study on the electrification of UK motorways.

Aug 11, 2021
2 min

University of Cambridge joins major study on the electrification of UK motorways.

The Centre for Sustainable Road Freight – a collaboration between the University of Cambridge, Heriot-Watt and Westminster Universities and a consortium of industry partners – is part of a team that has been awarded government funding to design a large-scale electric road freight system demonstrator. Department for Transport and delivered by Innovate UK, to boost the UK’s transition to zero emission road freight. The project team includes Siemens Mobility, Scania, Costain, Th

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University of Cambridge virologist helping us to stay one step ahead of infectious diseases.

Aug 10, 2021
5 min

University of Cambridge virologist helping us to stay one step ahead of infectious diseases.

An established virologist specialising in the field of HIV drug-resistance, Ravi Gupta pivoted his expertise to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last 18 months his pioneering research has helped us to stay one step ahead of emerging variants. He talks about his career as an infectious disease specialist and, in celebration of South Asian Heritage Month, what his heritage means to him. During my late teens I travelled to different countries around the world, including I

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Lab-grown beating heart cells identify potential drug to prevent COVID-19-related heart damage.

Aug 10, 2021
3 min

Lab-grown beating heart cells identify potential drug to prevent COVID-19-related heart damage.

Cambridge scientists have grown beating heart cells in the lab and shown how they are vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection. In a study published in Communications Biology, they used this system to show that an experimental peptide drug called DX600 can prevent the virus entering the heart cells. The heart is one the major organs damaged by infection with SARS-CoV-2, particularly the heart cells, or ‘cardiomyocytes’, which contract and circulate blood. It is also thought that da

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Cambridge University science and engineering developing AI system for air traffic control.

Aug 9, 2021
3 min

Cambridge University science and engineering developing AI system for air traffic control.

Cambridge engineers will build a Digital Twin of UK airspace and a related machine learning system that collaborates with humans, as part of a business-led research project announced in support of the government’s UK Innovation Strategy. The Prosperity Partnership is one of eight being supported with an investment of almost £60 million by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), businesses and universities. Inv

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University of Cambridge announce clinical trials for Artificial Pancreas.

Aug 6, 2021
4 min

University of Cambridge announce clinical trials for Artificial Pancreas.

An artificial pancreas could soon help those people living with type 2 diabetes who also require kidney dialysis. Tests led by the University of Cambridge and Inselspital, University Hospital of Bern, Switzerland, show that the device can help patients safely and effectively manage their blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of low blood sugar levels. Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure, accounting for just under a third (30%) of cases. As the number of peopl

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University of Cambridge researchers develop a way to detect brain tumors using simple blood test.

Aug 4, 2021
5 min

University of Cambridge researchers develop a way to detect brain tumors using simple blood test.

Researchers from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute have developed two tests that can detect the presence of glioma, a type of brain tumour, in patient urine or blood plasma. The team say that a test for detecting glioma using urine is the first of its kind in the world. Although the research, published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, is in its early stages and only a small number of patients were analysed, the team say their results are promising. The researchers suggest

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Cambridge Scientists reverse age-related memory loss in mice.

Aug 2, 2021
3 min

Cambridge Scientists reverse age-related memory loss in mice.

Scientists at Cambridge and Leeds have successfully reversed age-related memory loss in mice and say their discovery could lead to the development of treatments to prevent memory loss in people as they age. In a study published in Molecular Psychiatry, the team show that changes in the extracellular matrix of the brain – ‘scaffolding’ around nerve cells – lead to loss of memory with ageing, but that it is possible to reverse these using genetic treatments. Recent evidence has

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Biological ‘fingerprints’ of COVID in blood could lead to diagnostic test, say Cambridge scientists.

Jul 19, 2021
4 min

Biological ‘fingerprints’ of COVID in blood could lead to diagnostic test, say Cambridge scientists.

Markers in our blood – ‘fingerprints’ of infection – could help identify individuals who have been infected by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, several months after infection even if the individual had only mild symptoms or showed no symptoms at all, say Cambridge researchers. The team has received funding from the National Institute for Health Research to develop a test that could complement existing antibody tests. They also aim to use similar biological si

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University of Cambridge works on new device to accelerate drug development to combat brain cancer.

Jul 15, 2021
2 min

University of Cambridge works on new device to accelerate drug development to combat brain cancer.

Researchers have developed a 3D microvessel-on-a-chip device for the study of glioblastoma – a fast-growing and aggressive form of brain tumour that develops chemo-resistance over current treatments. Creating ‘humanised’ in vitro models to study brain cancers using patient-derived cancer cells, could improve our understanding of how cancer sub-types and the microvessel environment drive chemo-resistance, leading to the rapid testing of new drugs and therapeutic approaches. Th

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Climate changed the size of our bodies and, to some extent, our brains

Jul 13, 2021
3 min

Climate changed the size of our bodies and, to some extent, our brains

The average body size of humans has fluctuated significantly over the last million years and is strongly linked to temperature. Colder, harsher climates drove the evolution of larger body sizes, while warmer climates led to smaller bodies. Brain size also changed dramatically but did not evolve in tandem with body size. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, led by the Universities of Cambridge and Tübingen, has gathered measurements of body and brain size for over 300 fos

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Cambridge research group joins Foundation Industries green recovery research consortium.

Jul 2, 2021
2 min

Cambridge research group joins Foundation Industries green recovery research consortium.

Resource Efficiency Collective’s Dr Jonathan Cullen is joining Cranfield University and other collaborators in a research consortium examining how the Foundation Industries can grow and develop while helping achieve the Net Zero 2050 environmental targets. This programme will develop a self-sustaining Hub of expertise to support the Foundation Industries' transformation into non-polluting, resource efficient modern competitive manufactories working in harmony with the communi

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University of Cambridge researcher named one of Top 50 Women in Engineering.

Jul 1, 2021
2 min

University of Cambridge researcher named one of Top 50 Women in Engineering.

Dr Sohini Kar-Narayan from Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy has been named one of the top 50 Women in Engineering 2021 by the Women’s Engineering Society. Now in its sixth year, the 2021 WE50 celebrates the wealth of female talent within engineering and related disciplines. The annual celebration is aligned with International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) which takes place on 23 June. Some of Kar-Narayan’s happiest childhood memories involved taki

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Study shows brain differences in interpreting physical signals in mental health disorders.

Jun 30, 2021
3 min

Study shows brain differences in interpreting physical signals in mental health disorders.

Researchers have shown why people with mental health disorders, including anorexia and panic disorders, experience physical signals differently. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, found that the part of the brain which interprets physical signals from the body behaves differently in people with a range of mental health disorders, suggesting that it could be a target for future treatments. The researchers studied ‘interoception’ – the ability to sense internal

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University of Cambridge engineer celebrated as one of 2021’s Top 50 Women in Engineering.

Jun 29, 2021
3 min

University of Cambridge engineer celebrated as one of 2021’s Top 50 Women in Engineering.

Dr Kristen MacAskill, Lecturer in Engineering, Environment and Sustainable Development, has been named a winner of the Top 50 Women in Engineering: Engineering Heroes Awards. The 2021 Top 50 Women in Engineering Awards personify the inventive and inclusive thinking needed to build a sustainable future. If there was ever a time that we needed these heroes in engineering, it is now. To coincide with International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), the Women’s Engineering Society

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University of Cambridge researchers create new inflatable spinal implants to treat severe pain.

Jun 28, 2021
4 min

University of Cambridge researchers create new inflatable spinal implants to treat severe pain.

A team of engineers and clinicians at University of Cambridge have developed an ultra-thin, inflatable device that can be used to treat the most severe forms of pain without the need for invasive surgery. The device uses a combination of soft robotic fabrication techniques, ultra-thin electronics and microfluidics. The device is so thin – about the width of a human hair – that it can be rolled up into a tiny cylinder, inserted into a needle, and implanted into the epidural sp

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University of Cambridge Astronomers spot a ‘blinking giant’ near the centre of the Galaxy.

Jun 25, 2021
1 min

University of Cambridge Astronomers spot a ‘blinking giant’ near the centre of the Galaxy.

Astronomers have spotted a giant ‘blinking’ star towards the centre of the Milky Way, more than 25,000 light years away. The discovery was led by Dr Leigh Smith from Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, working with scientists at the University of Edinburgh, the University of Hertfordshire, the University of Warsaw in Poland and Universidad Andres Bello in Chile. Click here to read the full story. #cambridgeuniversity #astronomy #astrophysics

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University of Cambridge creates new risk calculator to save more lives from heart attack & stroke.

Jun 23, 2021
1 min

University of Cambridge creates new risk calculator to save more lives from heart attack & stroke.

A new risk calculator will better predict people at high risk of heart and circulatory diseases years before they strike, and is ready for use across the UK and Europe, according to research published today in the journal European Heart Journal. Click here to read the full story. #cambridgeuniversity #heartattack #stroke

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University of Cambridge Graphene Centre study shows tenfold jump in high-density hard drive capacity

Jun 16, 2021
3 min

University of Cambridge Graphene Centre study shows tenfold jump in high-density hard drive capacity

Ultra-high-density hard drives made with graphene store ten times more data Graphene can be used for ultra-high density hard disk drives (HDD), with up to a tenfold jump compared to current technologies, researchers at the Cambridge Graphene Centre have shown. The study, published in Nature Communications, was carried out in collaboration with teams at the University of Exeter, India, Switzerland, Singapore, and the US. HDDs first appeared in the 1950s, but their use as stora

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