Squeezing out opal-like colours by the mile
Researchers have devised a new method for stacking microscopic marbles into regular layers, producing intriguing materials which scatter light into intense colours, and which change colour when twisted or stretched.
Consortium scores €9 million for textile nanofibre research
The University of Cambridge Department of Engineering will coordinate a new €9 million European Commission-funded project on technical textiles.
Uncertain, nostalgic, uncomfortable and bewildered: a portrait of the older Brexit backer
Geoffrey Edwards, Emeritus Reader in European Studies at the University of Cambridge, discusses what motivates some people to support Brexit.
Innovating for the future of cities
University of Cambridge Professors Doug Crawford-Brown, Robert Mair and Koen Steemers describe the challenges our future cities will face and how mitigation depends on the innovations we create and put in place today.
Lines of Thought: Communicating Faith
Some of the world’s most important religious texts are currently on display in Cambridge as part of Cambridge University Library’s 600th anniversary exhibition – Lines of Thought: Discoveries that Changed the World.
Cambridge App maps decline in regional diversity of English dialects
Regional diversity in dialect words and pronunciations could be diminishing as much of England falls more in line with how English is spoken in London and the south-east, according to the first results from a free app developed by Cambridge researchers.
Landscapes from other worlds
Astronomer Professor Paul Murdin will be speaking in the Cambridge Series at the Hay Festival about his latest book on planetary landscapes.
Urgent action needed to close UK languages gap
The UK Government needs to urgently adopt a new, comprehensive languages strategy if it is to keep pace with its international competitors and reduce a skills deficit that has wide-reaching economic, political, and military effects.
Study finds little change in the IMF’s policy advice, despite rhetoric of reform
Researchers describe the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as having an “escalating commitment to hypocrisy”, as study reveals that strict lending conditions have returned to pre-crisis levels, while ‘pro-poor’ targets frequently go unmet.
Opinion: Dear young people - here’s why you need to vote in the EU referendum
Catherine Barnard (University of Cambridge Faculty of Law) discusses why it's so important that young people vote in the EU referendum.
First evidence of icy comets orbiting a sun-like star
Astronomers have found the first evidence of comets around a star similar to the sun, providing an opportunity to study what our solar system was like as a ‘baby’.
How the brain controls what we eat
Dr Giles Yeo of the University of Cambridge will present a BBC Horizon programme in the summer on the science of obesity and is speaking about his research at the Hay Festival.
Sexual transmission involved in tail-end of Ebola epidemic
Some of the final cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone were transmitted via unconventional routes, such as semen and breastmilk, according to the largest analysis to date of the tail-end of the epidemic.
Body-worn cameras associated with increased assaults against police
Preliminary results from eight UK and US police forces reveal rates of assault against officers are 15% higher when they use body-worn cameras.
Natural selection sculpts genetic information to limit diversity
A study of butterflies suggests that when a species adapts, other parts of its genetic make-up can be linked to that adaptation, limiting diversity in the population.
Leonardo da Vinci: the first systematic study of friction
Friction is immensely important to us – without it, for example, we could not walk or even crawl – yet it is only 50 years since a special word – ‘tribology’ – was first coined to describe its study. Professor Ian Hutchings of Cambridge University's Department of Engineering has recently had a paper published on Leonardo da Vinci and his studies of Friction.
Youngest ancient Egyptian human foetus discovered in miniature coffin at the Fitzwilliam
A miniature ancient Egyptian coffin measuring just 44cm in length has been found to contain the youngest ever example of a human foetus to be embalmed and buried in Egyptian society. This discovery is the only academically verified specimen to exist at only sixteen to eighteen weeks of gestation.
Ageing affects test-taking, not language, study shows
The ability to understand language could be much better preserved into old age than previously thought, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge, who found older adults struggle more with test conditions than language processing.
Explaining the European Union
Dr Chris Bickerton's new book aims to explain how the EU works, where the power lies and how it makes decisions in an accessible way.
Cambridge University Botanic Garden Festival of Plants
Cambridge University Botanic Garden holds its annual Festival of Plants this Saturday (14 May 2016), offering something for everyone to enjoy: from families to photographers, gardeners to budding plant scientists or anyone looking for an interesting day out in beautiful surroundings.
Study provides clues to why some breast cancers are hard to beat
Scientists have unearthed crucial new genetic information about how breast cancer develops and the genetic changes which can be linked to survival, according to a study published in Nature Communications.
Joanna Hogg becomes Cambridge's first Filmmaker in Residence
Leading contemporary director and screenwriter Joanna Hogg is to become the first Filmmaker in Residence at the University of Cambridge, where she is to present a series of talks and screenings this month.
Sir James Dyson opens invention powerhouse at the University of Cambridge
Sir James Dyson opened some of the world’s most advanced engineering facilities at the University of Cambridge yesterday (Monday) – giving the institution’s students and academics the space and means to prototype, invent and collaborate on cutting-edge research.
First global map of flow within the Earth’s mantle finds the surface is moving up and down
Researchers have compiled the first global set of observations of flow within the Earth’s mantle – the layer between the crust and the core – and found that it is moving much faster than has been predicted.
Scientists develop human embryos beyond implantation stage for first time
A new technique that allows embryos to develop in vitro beyond the implantation stage (when the embryo would normally implant into the womb) has been developed by scientists at the University of Cambridge, allowing them to analyse for the first time key stages of human embryo development up to 13 days after fertilisation. The technique could open up new avenues of research aimed at helping…