Fifteen new breast cancer genetic risk ‘hot-spots’ revealed
Scientists have discovered 15 previously unknown genetic ‘hot-spots’ that can increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer, according to research published this week in Nature Genetics.
Your brain might not be as ‘old’ as you think
Our standard way of measuring brain activity could be giving us a misleading picture of how our brains age, argues Dr Kamen Tsvetanov from the University of Cambridge Department of Psychology.
Festival explores the Science of Invention
The 21st Cambridge Science Festival, which starts today and runs for two weeks, will include events exploring human creativity and invention. Throughout the Festival, Cambridge will be invaded by a Mars rover, will play host to the future of electricity and artificial lights and will celebrate some of the most significant advances in computing, printing and micro-manufacturing.
Zeiss sponsors Department of Engineering Photography Competition
The annual photography competition, open to all staff and students in Cambridge University's Department of Engineering, is sponsored by ZEISS (Scanning electron microscopy division).
Amazon deforestation ‘threshold’ causes species loss to accelerate
One of the largest area studies of forest loss impacting biodiversity shows that a third of the Amazon is headed toward or has just past a threshold of forest cover below which species loss is faster and more damaging. Researchers call for conservation policy to switch from targeting individual landowners to entire regions.
Making light of art and science
During the UNESCO international year of light, the Cambridge Science Festival 2015, which starts on Monday (March 9th) and runs for two weeks, is staging a series of events that reveal what different uses of light can teach us about the history of human society, how it has helped us make sense of the world we live in and what it could teach us about humanity’s future directions.
What can scientists learn from Facebook?
Could Facebook help to build bridges between societies around the world? Could it even hold the key to understanding our feelings of love, or really help us find our perfect match?
Caring and sharing: challenges, costs and questions of dignity
Integration of healthcare (free at point of delivery from the NHS) and social care (means-tested and provided by local authorities) is under increasing scrutiny as the 2014 Care Act comes into effect. Research by Dr Brian Sloan, a legal scholar currently based at CRASSH, addresses some big questions about the legal framework and the ways in which the elderly and vulnerable are supported.
Speedy science takes the stage
The international FameLab competition has been called X Factor for scientists, giving competitors just three minutes, with minimal props, to share their favourite scientific discoveries. This year, for the first time, Cambridge Science Festival will play host to the FameLab UK Cambridge regional final.
The super-resolution revolution
Cambridge scientists are part of a resolution revolution. Building powerful instruments that shatter the physical limits of optical microscopy, they are beginning to watch molecular processes as they happen, and in three dimensions.
Bigger bangs and squishier squelches at Science Festival
Families and children are in for a real treat with bigger bangs, squishier squelches, lots more snot and ice cream, simulated surgery, and a few robots wandering around at this year’s Cambridge Science Festival.
Sleeping over eight hours a day associated with greater risk of stroke
People who sleep for more than eight hours a day have an increased risk of stroke, according to a study by the University of Cambridge – and this risk doubles for older people who persistently sleep longer than average. However, the researchers say it is unclear why this association exists and call for further research to explore the link.
Million man study examines long-term effects of blocking inflammation
Inflammation – the body’s response to damaging stimuli – may have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease, according to a study just published in the journal Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.
Graphene’s potential for energy conversion and storage
Scientists working with Europe's Graphene Flagship and the Cambridge Graphene Centre have produced a detailed and wide-ranging review of the potential of graphene and related materials in energy conversion and storage.
‘What does a subatomic duck say? Quark!’
Once again, comedy is a big part of the Cambridge Science Festival with the likes of Ben Clover, Festival of the Spoken Nerd and Robin Ince presenting a rollicking showcase of nerdy humour throughout the two-week Festival, which runs from 9 – 22 March.
World’s protected natural areas receive eight billion visits a year
Researchers say that the first study to attempt to gauge global visitation figures for protected areas reveals nature-based tourism has an economic value of hundreds of billions of dollars annually, and call for much greater investment in the conservation of protected areas in line with the values they sustain – both economically and ecologically.
Watching the death throes of tumours
A clinical trial due to begin later this year will see scientists observing close up, in real time – and in patients – how tumours respond to new drugs.
Modern art’s missing chapter
The artworks of black and indigenous peoples – a missing chapter in the history of modern art – is brought into sharp focus in a ‘revelatory’ exhibition at Cambridge University’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
'Nehru and today's India'
The University of Cambridge hosted Nehru and Today’s India, a major international symposium, in New Delhi last week to assess and mark the legacy of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister and Cambridge alumnus, in the year of his 125th birth anniversary.
European alternative finance market could top €7 billion in 2015
The European alternative finance market - which includes crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending and invoice trading - reached €3 billion last year and could top €7 billion in 2015, says a new report.
Acting ‘out of character’ in the workplace
Look around your workplace – and ask yourself which colleagues you’d describe as extravert and which as introvert. Perhaps your most talkative workmate is actually an introvert? Research by Sanna Balsari-Palsule, a PhD candidate in Cambridge University's Department of Psychology, investigates the ways in which people act 'out of character' – and how the consequences play out in the workplace.
Illuminating art’s history
Scientific imaging techniques are uncovering secrets locked in medieval illuminated manuscripts – including those of a thrifty duke.
'You’ve got a friend in me' - Bringing designers and animators together
Aircraft designers and animators use different digital technologies to achieve the same goal: creating a three-dimensional image that can be manipulated. But a new method that links the two could vastly speed up how product designers create and simulate the performance of their products.
Cambridge Drug Discovery Institute to fast-track development of new treatments for dementia
Alzheimer’s Research UK, the world’s largest dedicated dementia research charity, has announced a £30 million Drug Discovery Alliance, launching three flagship Drug Discovery Institutes at the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and UCL (University College London). The Drug Discovery Institutes will see 90 new research scientists employed in state-of-the-art facilities to fast-track the development…
Molecular inhibitor breaks cycle that leads to Alzheimer’s
A molecular chaperone has been found to inhibit a key stage in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and break the toxic chain reaction that leads to the death of brain cells, a new study shows. The research provides an effective basis for searching for candidate molecules that could be used to treat the condition.