Cambridge Festival of Ideas: top picks for week 2
Immigration in post-Brexit Britain, migration issues in the EU, religious and political extremism and revenge porn top the bill during the second week of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas.
Collaboration targets hard-to-treat cancers
Cambridge leads a £10 million interdisciplinary collaboration to target the most challenging of cancers.
Cambridge team develops technique to ‘listen’ to a patient’s brain during tumour surgery
Surgeons could soon eavesdrop on a patient’s brain activity during surgery to remove their brain tumour, helping improve the accuracy of the operation and reduce the risk of impairing brain function.
Graphene may exceed bandwidth demands of future telecommunications
Researchers from the Cambridge Graphene Centre, together with industrial and academic collaborators within the European Graphene Flagship project, showed that integrated graphene-based photonic devices offer a solution for the next generation of optical communications.
New legal tool aims to increase openness, sharing and innovation in global biotechnology
A new easy-to-use legal tool that enables exchange of biological material between research institutes and companies has just been launched.
European research network aims to tackle problematic internet use
A pan-European network to tackle problematic internet usage officially has been launched with the publication of its manifesto, setting out the important questions that need to be addressed by the research community.
Cambridge Festival of Ideas: how do we secure our food supply in a changing world?
According to the landmark report released on Monday by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which called for immediate action, we are facing a rapidly approaching future of extreme heat, drought and floods – and with these weather extremes potential agricultural crises.
Radical markets: uprooting capitalism and democracy for a just society
The Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge is holding an event with Glen Weyl, Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and Visiting Senior Research Scholar at Yale, on his new book Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society on Wednesday 31 October 2018 (5–6pm).
Scientists develop mouse ‘embryo-like structures’ with organisation along body’s major axes
A team of scientists at the University of Cambridge has developed an artificial mouse embryo-like structure capable of forming the three major axes of the body. The technique, reported in the journal Nature, could reduce the use of mammalian embryos in research.
Cambridge Festival of Ideas looks at the extremes of human behaviour
Is mental illness an extreme state of being? What do we mean by ‘extreme’ in human nature? These questions and more are explored during a series of events that delve into our understanding of human psychology and its extremes during this year’s Cambridge Festival of Ideas, which launches on 15th October. Two of the events reveal new findings and research.
Introducing the lettuce peeling robot
Cambridge researchers have developed what is believed to be the first robotic lettuce leaf peeling system of its kind.
Professor receives prestigious award
Professor Dame Ann Dowling has received the Engineering Professors’ Council’s (EPC) most prestigious award – the President’s Prize.
Royal Academy of Engineering announces 2018 Fellows
Three Cambridge researchers are among the new Fellows announced by the Royal Academy of Engineering, in recognition of their outstanding contributions.
Scientists reveal plan to target the cause of Alzheimer’s disease
Researchers have developed a new way to target the toxic particles that destroy healthy brain cells in Alzheimer’s disease.
Ebola and Lassa fever targeted by new vaccine trial and improved surveillance
Scientists hope that a new approach to vaccine development, combined with improved surveillance of potential future threats of outbreak, could help to massively reduce the impact of deadly diseases such as Ebola, Marburg and Lassa fever.
Mitochondrial diseases could be treated with gene therapy, study suggests
Researchers have developed a genome-editing tool for the potential treatment of mitochondrial diseases: serious and often fatal conditions which affect one in 5,000 people.
Cambridge Festival of Ideas open for bookings
How should we tackle apocalyptic terrorism? What can mystical experiences during epileptic seizures teach us about empathy? What purpose do angels serve?
New research facility for neurodegenerative disorders opens in Cambridge
The Chemistry of Health building, a new facility dedicated to the use of chemical techniques to combat disease, in particular neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, has been officially opened in Cambridge.
Children and families spoilt for choice at this year’s Cambridge Festival of Ideas
Ever wondered what it’s like to live in the arctic or medieval times? How do you mix up words to create giants? Who exactly is the king with the bling?
Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores the dark side of technology
From the growing dangers of the dark web and social media, to the technologies that improve lives, the 2018 Cambridge Festival of Ideas (15-28 October) reveals the latest research and findings regarding the impact of our rapidly-evolving technological world.
The new ‘Rising Path’ opens at Cambridge University Botanic Garden
The Rising Path at Cambridge University Botanic Garden, designed to offer a fresh perspective on the Garden’s historic Systematic Beds, will open to the public on Saturday (22 September 2018).
'Significant breakthrough' in understanding the deadly nature of pandemic influenza
Researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford have discovered a new molecule that plays a key role in the immune response that is triggered by influenza infections. The molecule, a so-called mini viral RNA, is capable of inducing inflammation and cell death, and was produced at high levels by the 1918 pandemic influenza virus.
Cambridge Festival of Ideas: marriage, what is it good for?
Should marriage still exist? Does it make us healthier? When was the most dramatic change in the institution of marriage?
‘High-yield’ farming costs the environment less than previously thought
New findings suggest that more intensive agriculture might be the “least bad” option for feeding the world while saving its species – provided use of such “land-efficient” systems prevents further conversion of wilderness to farmland.
Cambridge spin-out company wins award and industry mentoring
Cambridge start-up HexagonFab, a spin-out from the University's Department of Engineering, has been announced as a winner of the Merck Displaying Futures Award.