University of Cambridge (cam.ac.uk)

Modified natural materials will be an essential component of a sustainable future, but first a detailed understanding of their properties is needed. The way heat flows across bamboo cell walls has been mapped using advanced scanning thermal microscopy, providing a new understanding of how variations in thermal conductivity are linked to the bamboo’s elegant structure.

Patients experiencing mild to moderate mental health issues could be managed effectively by GP practices, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. This could also help reduce the stigma faced by these individuals. However, specialist treatment may still prove more cost-effective in the long term, say the researchers.

An undergraduate team behind Helia – one of the world’s most energy-efficient cars – aims to inspire the next generation of engineers when they take the electric car on tour around schools next summer.

A newly-discovered molecular mechanism that allows damaged adult liver cells to regenerate could pave the way for drugs to treat conditions such as cirrhosis or other chronic liver diseases where regeneration is impaired. 

Many current inhalers for conditions such as asthma contain propellants that are potent greenhouse gases. A study from researchers at the University of Cambridge has found that switching to alternative, greener inhalers would not only result in large carbon savings, but could be achieved alongside reduced drug costs by using less expensive brands.

Largest study yet to compare protected with “matched” unprotected land finds “significantly higher” increases in human pressure – primarily through agriculture – in protected areas across the tropics.

The University's first Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholars were welcomed last week at a special event at St Catharine's College.

From a young age, Lars Blackmore was interested in space travel and had a goal to one day work on electronics for spacecraft. It’s been a journey that’s led him from studying Engineering at Cambridge to completing a PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), before going on to land engineering roles at both NASA and SpaceX.

Cambridge researchers have captured the visible nanostructure of living wood for the first time using an advanced low-temperature scanning electron microscope.