World-first sustainable office retrofit begins at new CISL headquarters
The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) has announced the start of works on its new visionary headquarters. This world-first for a retrofitted sustainable office building will set new standards for low energy use, carbon emissions and impact on natural resources as well as user experience and wellbeing.
Performers push the boundaries at this year’s Cambridge Festival
The past year has been a challenging one for the performing arts, but challenge breeds innovation and the Cambridge Festival will showcase an array of exciting experiments in distance performing from leading artists and thinkers.
Families and children spoilt for choice at the Cambridge Festival
Virtual escape rooms, jaw-dropping science demos, mini explosions, gory guts, interactive games with zombies and aliens, brain-tingling quizzes, gripping stories, talks about poo and ice cream, masterclasses, and even a talkaoke… it’s fair to say families will have a hard time choosing what to do during the Cambridge Festival (Friday 26 March – Sunday 4 April).
Changes can be detected in BRCA1 breast cells before they turn cancerous
Researchers may have found the earliest changes that occur in seemingly healthy breast tissue long before any tumours appear, according to a new study published today in the journal 'Nature Communications'.
Cambridge marks International Women’s Day 2021
Staff and students across Cambridge are running a series of events and activities to celebrate International Women's Day 2021 - including conferences, lectures, talks, social media campaigns, and even Spotify playlists.
The Cambridge Festival explores what ‘family’ means in the 21st century
For many, the idea of ‘family’ is immensely powerful, particularly in an age when family lives have been under constant scrutiny from all sides as people and governments deal with the complexities and uncertainties of changing and diverse communities. How does this impact upon, but also reflect, people's everyday experiences?
Inclusive Design researcher wins awards
Matteo Zallio describes himself as design activist. He is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie senior research fellow working with Professor John Clarkson, in The Engineering Design Centre at the University of Cambridge, helping designers to create environments that guarantee inclusivity, diversity, equity and accessibility.
Through the looking glass: artificial ‘molecules’ open door to ultrafast devices
Researchers from the University of Cambridge and Skoltech in Russia have shown that polaritons, the quirky particles that may end up running the quantum supercomputers of the future, can form structures that behave like molecules – and these ‘artificial molecules’ can potentially be engineered on demand. Their results are published in the journal Physical Review B Letters.
Leading experts to discuss mental health at Cambridge Festival
To what extent has the pandemic impacted teenagers’ mental health and development? Could a video game help promote mental wellbeing and reduce mental suffering? What about support for people suffering with dementia?
Forests' long-term capacity to store carbon is dropping in regions with extreme annual fires
Researchers have analysed decades’ worth of data on the impact of repeated fires on ecosystems across the world.
Historian wins major journalism award for Indigenous land project
Dr Robert Lee, Cambridge University lecturer in American History, has been awarded a George Polk Award, one of the most prestigious in journalism, for his investigation into how the United States funded land-grant universities with expropriated Indigenous land.
Cambridge Festival focuses on climate change action
Global experts, from Sir David Attenborough to Tom Rivett-Carnac, Emily Shuckburgh and Mike Berners-Lee, will lead a wide-ranging series of events on climate change at the Cambridge Festival with an emphasis on action.
Artificial ‘brain’ reveals why we can’t always believe our eyes
A computer network closely modelled on part of the human brain is enabling new insights into the way our brains process moving images - and explains some perplexing optical illusions.
Identification of ‘violent’ processes that cause wheezing could lead to better diagnosis and treatment for lung disease
A team of engineers has identified the ‘violent’ physical processes at work inside the lungs which cause wheezing, a condition that affects up to a quarter of the world’s population.
University of Cambridge Festival reveals world-leading health research
The latest COVID-19 research, including long COVID, developments in early cancer detection and a new artificial valve that could transform open-heart surgery are some of the health-related topics being discussed at the free online Cambridge Festival next month.
Scientists launch a pre-emptive strike on deadly post-transplant infection
A potential new treatment to protect immunosuppressed patients from human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has been discovered by scientists at the University of Cambridge.
From the future of democracy to bridging political extremes: political debates at the Cambridge Festival
The future of democracy in a digital age, the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement, efforts to rebuild trust after Brexit, how we bridge political extremes and what we have learnt from a year of ‘following the science’ form just some of the political debates at the Cambridge Festival this year.
Cambridge psychologist helps Facebook fight climate change misinformation
Social media giant turns to behaviour and communication expert to help it tackle the dangerous anti-science myths that circulate online.
Cambridge engineers unveil Digital Twin to support the ‘future of farming’
Hydroponic farming challenges traditional methods in favour of soil-less, water-based farming processes. To ensure the ongoing operational success of farms such as these, Cambridge engineers have developed a virtual forecasting model to provide bespoke feedback to farmers.
First COVID-19 lockdown cost UK hospitality and high street £45 billion in turnover, researchers estimate
UK supermarkets and online retailers made an additional £4 billion each thanks to the coronavirus lockdown that began in March last year, according to econometric models.
Robotic dogs and laughter therapy: 10 ways to combat loneliness and isolation while social distancing
Robotic dogs, laughter therapy and mindfulness are some of the ways that might help people – particularly the elderly – cope with loneliness and social isolation while social distancing, say researchers at the University of Cambridge.
Light used to detect quantum information stored in 100,000 nuclear quantum bits
Researchers have found a way to use light and a single electron to communicate with a cloud of quantum bits and sense their behaviour, making it possible to detect a single quantum bit in a dense cloud.
Cambridge Festival asks: can robots ever truly mimic humans?
Could AI help us reach a more equitable and fair society? Should chatbots and AI be built to care and have empathy? If such machines are built, should we consider their moral and legal status? Or are we giving up too much control to machines that are too stupid to handle the tasks they are already charged with?
Astronomers identify new method of planet formation
Scientists have suggested a new explanation for the abundance in intermediate-mass exoplanets – a long-standing puzzle in astronomy.
Proper fit of face masks is more important than material, study suggests
A team of researchers studying the effectiveness of different types of face masks has found that in order to provide the best protection against COVID-19, the fit of a mask is as important, or more important, than the material it is made of.