Max Planck Cambridge Centre launched
Researchers from Germany’s Max Planck Society (MPS) met with University of Cambridge counterparts last week for the formal launch of the Max Planck Cambridge Centre for Ethics, Economy and Social Change.
Study finds that genes play a role in empathy
A new study just published suggests that how empathic we are is not just a result of our upbringing and experience but also partly a result of our genes.
Science on Sundays 2018 begins this weekend at Cambridge University Botanic Garden
As we head into spring do you ever wonder at nature’s ability to bounce back after a winter of snow and storms? Plants are capable of doing this and a whole lot more...
What are the harms and benefits of breast cancer screening?
As increasingly fewer women are going for breast cancer screening, one event at the Cambridge Science Festival - which starts on Monday and runs for two weeks - asks how can we make sense of the increasingly polarised debate about the harms and benefits of breast cancer screening?
Cambridge Science Festival: Is time running out to tackle climate change?
What action do we urgently need to take to tackle climate change? Are some suggested solutions too dangerous to undertake? What impact could these solutions have on our Earth?
Method to predict drug stability could lead to more effective medicines
Researchers from the UK and Denmark have developed a new method to predict the physical stability of drug candidates, which could help with the development of new and more effective medicines for patients. The technology has been licensed to Cambridge spin-out company TeraView, who are developing it for use in the pharmaceutical industry in order to make medicines that are more easily released in…
£2.5million gift to Cambridge Sport funds two new hockey pitches
A £2.5m gift - for two new hockey pitches for use by the University and wider Cambridge community - marks a defining moment in the mission of the University to improve sports facilities and recognise the many wide-ranging benefits sport gives to all who take part.
Microsoft Prize for tool that aims to improve internet browsing for the visually impaired
A Cambridge student working on a prize-winning computer plugin for the visually impaired is asking for feedback from potential users to help further its development.
In tech we trust?
Fairness, trust and transparency are qualities we usually associate with organisations or individuals. Today, these attributes might also apply to algorithms. As machine learning systems become more complex and pervasive, Cambridge researchers believe it’s time for new thinking about new technology.
Young children use physics, not previous rewards, to learn about tools
Children as young as seven apply basic laws of physics to problem-solving, rather than learning from what has previously been rewarded, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge.
Helping police make custody decisions using artificial intelligence
Police at the “front line” of difficult risk-based judgements are trialling an AI system trained by University of Cambridge criminologists to give guidance using the outcomes of five years of criminal histories.
Cambridge Science Festival: Top surgeons reveal the future of organ transplantation
Organ transplantation is a miracle of modern medicine and has saved thousands of lives. However, the nationwide shortage of suitable organs for transplanting is a major challenge. It is this challenge that has driven researchers in Cambridge and beyond to investigate new techniques and therapies for the future.
Cambridge University and Institute of Cancer Research launch Children’s Brain Tumour Centre
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has announced funding for a new Children’s Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence, based at the University of Cambridge and The Institute of Cancer Research, London.
Study in mice suggests personalised stem cell treatment may offer relief for progressive MS
Scientists have shown in mice that skin cells re-programmed into brain stem cells, transplanted into the central nervous system, help reduce inflammation and may be able to help repair damage caused by multiple sclerosis (MS).
Fake news ‘vaccine’: online game may ‘inoculate’ by simulating propaganda tactics
A new experiment, just launched online, aims to help ‘inoculate’ against disinformation by providing a small dose of perspective from a “fake news tycoon”. A pilot study has shown some early success in building resistance to fake news among teenagers.
In living colour: Brightly-coloured bacteria could be used to 'grow' paints and coatings
Researchers have unlocked the genetic code behind some of the brightest and most vibrant colours in nature.
Cambridge Science Festival: making sense of the brain
Is normal perception simply a controlled hallucination? How does the heart control our thoughts and feelings? How close are we to being able to repair brain damage? Could a game help to defeat dementia?
Calcium may play a role in the development of Parkinson’s disease
Researchers have found that excess levels of calcium in brain cells may lead to the formation of toxic clusters that are the hallmark of Parkinson’s disease.
The uncertain unicycle that taught itself; how it’s helping AI make good decisions
Cambridge researchers are pioneering a form of machine learning that starts with only a little prior knowledge and continually learns from the world around it.
New technologies: Cambridge Science Festival explores the opportunities and the challenges
How do new technologies reveal the past? What can mobile devices show about us and society as a whole? Can we trust AI systems? Why do we need to teach computers to speak? Is digital reading reducing our attention span?
Cambridge and AI: what makes this city a good place to start a business?
What makes a city as small as Cambridge a hotbed for AI and machine learning start-ups? A critical mass of clever people obviously helps. But there’s more to Cambridge’s success than that.
Cambridge first UK centre to be given ‘Comprehensive Cancer Center of Excellence’
The Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre has become the first UK institute to be designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center of Excellence by the European Academy of Cancer Sciences (EACS).
Cambridge Science Festival: what does the future of healthcare look like?
Is genomics the future of healthcare? How ready are we for the infectious diseases of the future? What exactly should we be eating and how should we be exercising to stay healthy?
Newly-developed image guidelines will improve mobile shopping experience worldwide
A new type of online product image, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge in collaboration with global consumer goods company Unilever, could improve the mobile shopping experience for the world’s 2.5 billion smartphone users.
Artificial intelligence is growing up fast: what’s next for thinking machines?
Our lives are already enhanced by AI – or at least an AI in its infancy – with technologies using algorithms that help them to learn from our behaviour. As AI grows up and starts to think, not just to learn, we ask how human-like do we want their intelligence to be and what impact will machines have on our jobs?