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A Cambridge team frustrated by the apathetic response to biodiversity loss has developed a dramatic new way to highlight the demise of nature – and people are listening. Driven by the observation that human activities are silencing nature, researchers have linked a piece of classical music, Mendelssohn’s ‘Hebrides Overture’, with the loss of an iconic species: the North Atlantic humpback

In Re J (Children) [2013] UKSC 9 the Supreme Court considered a child protection case involving a mother who had previously been suspected of causing significant harm to her child, and was now looking after different children in a new relationship. Brian discusses the implications of the case and analyses the Court's attempts to balance non- intervention into family life with child protection.

First prize in the Carl Zeiss video competition at the University of Cambridge, Department of Engineering : 'Valencia Yacht Club Design Video' Undergraduate students had to come up with an interesting design for a tension structure and do all the complicated nonlinear structural calculations to show that the structure would stand up. Even if we ignore the video, the design is brilliant on so many

In his speech at Chatham House on 10 November 2015 (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/prime-ministers-speech-on-europe), the Prime Minister David Cameron outlined those aspects of the EU he would like to see reformed prior to any referendum on the UK's continued membership of the EU. EU employment law - one of the most controversial areas of EU policy - was not expressly identified in his

Summary: On no area of human concern has Darwins impact been as keenly felt as on matters of religion. Here I shall not dwell on popular constructions of conflict between creation and evolution, which are often simplistic, but rather consider reasons why religious affiliation and practice continue to survive, despite the intellectual challenge of Darwinism. I shall suggest that through affirmative

On the 15 November the UK Supreme Court decided that the United Kingdom's policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful. In this short video Dr Kirsty Hughes explains the Court's reasoning, and considers the Government's response and possible next steps. Kirsty Hughes is an Associate Professor specialising in Human Rights Law. She is joint General Editor of the European Human Rights Law

On the 23rd November the UK Supreme court decided that the Scottish Parliament did not have the power to enact legislation to hold a second independence referendum in Scotland. In this short video Professor Alison Young explains the backdrop to the case, sets out how the Supreme court decided the case, and explores possible future paths to Scottish independence. Alison Young is the Sir David

Welcome (or welcome back) to Mind Over Chatter, the Cambridge University Podcast. One series at a time, we break down complex issues into simple questions. In this third series, we’re talking all about Health. We’ll be exploring both physical and mental health, and we’ll discuss causes, treatments and preventions for issues like dementia, cancer, infectious diseases and obesity. We’re

About six million workers in the UK suffer poor health because of their jobs, from health issues like coronary heart disease and stress to back problems. Current solutions tend to deal with the symptoms rather than the causes. But what if we could change how jobs are designed, so that they reduce ill health and its costs? The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed how people work – it could

The successful appeal in R v Jogee and Ruddock v The Queen before the a combined Supreme Court and Privy Council raises important issues in the criminal law of complicity (sometimes unhelpfully labelled 'joint enterprise'). In this video Dr Matthew Dyson, who advised the appellant's counsel in the case considers the law of complicity, what the case changed, and its implications. Dr Matthew Dyson

Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights holding that the UK's blanket ban on voting by convicted prisoners violates Article 3 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights have caused controversy in the UK. Professor David Feldman discusses the judgements of the European Court, and considers the principles behind allowing prisoners to vote. Professor Feldman is Rouse Ball

In January 2018 it was reported that the Parole Board had approved the release of John Worboys, the so-called ‘Black Cab Rapist’. Worboys had been incarcerated since his conviction for a number of sexual offences in March 2009, and it was believed that he was responsible for many attacks over which he was not charged. The announcement of the decision caused much public unrest, and led to

On Thursday 17th March leading UK ferry operator P&O Ferries sacked 800 British crew across its entire fleet and stopped all sailings. The move sparked fury amongst employees and unions, and consternation in parliament. Many asked was the move - and the proposal to use cheap agency staff instead - legal, and also was it a result of Brexit? In this video, Professor Catherine Barnard considers the

In Ilott v The Blue Cross [2017] UKSC 17 the Supreme Court considered the competing claims of the animal charities included in a woman's will and her estranged adult daughter, who was excluded from the will but living in necessitous circumstances. In this video, Brian Sloan considers the outcome of the case, which raised fundamental principles of succession law, and its broader implications.

Best-selling author Tara Westover (https://www.gatescambridge.org/about/news/what-does-it-mean-to-be-educated/) , researcher Aliya Khalid (https://www.gatescambridge.org/about/news/how-mothers-affect-their-daughters-education/) and Thabo Msibi (https://www.gatescambridge.org/about/news/thabo-msibi-south-africa/) Deputy Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning at the University of KwaZulu-Natal

The case of Vinter v UK was recently decided by the European Court of Human Rights, and has raised a good deal of controversy regarding the right of the United Kingdom to sentence a prisoner to a life sentence (the Whole Life Tariff) without the chance of review. Mrs Nicola Padfield discusses the judgement of the European Court, and the corresponding reaction from members of the UK Government and

A lot of people who study Law at University do so because they want to become practising lawyers, whether as barristers or solicitors. But it is not necessary to read Law at University to become a lawyer. Equally, studying Law at University is a legitimate subject for academic study even if you definitely do not want to become a lawyer or think that you may not become a practising lawyer. That is

In this last episode of the series, we’ll be exploring how stories work for and against climate change. Subscribe to the podcast here: mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen We cover a lot of ground: from hippos and polar bears to how many times ‘sex’ and ‘tea’ were mentioned on TV between 2017 and 2018… so what’s all of this got to do with sustainability and climate change? Join us

In eurosceptic circles it is widely stated that European criminal justice threatens to undermine the basic values of the common law, and this is put forward as a reason why the UK should 'withdraw from the Europe'. This argument was recently put forward by Nigel Farage, of the UK Independence Party, in an article he wrote for The Independent (10 November 2013). In this presentation Professor John

Could a videogame help promote mental wellbeing and reduce mental suffering? Go to www.slido.com and enter code 59066 to chat about the event. Paul Fletcher (Consultant Psychiatrist and Bernard Wolfe Professor of Health and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge) and Tameem Antoniades (Co-founder and Chief Creative Ninja, Ninja Theory) discuss the development of multi-BAFTA Award-winning videogame

Over a two-year period, a team of researchers from the University of Cambridge's Centre for Commonwealth Education, along with others in the UK and three countries in Africa, approached the problem by thinking beyond the classroom and asking a fundamental question: how much do children know already? "We worked with children at grade 6 in primary school [median age 12] because this is the final

The '60 Second Impressions' are a series of one-minute films featuring current Cambridge undergraduate students. These students talk about what it's really like to study at Cambridge, live in a College, and take part in a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Alexa is from the USA, and is studying HSPS. In her 60 Second Impression, she talks about the diverse range of people at Cambridge and

Atomic-level engineering is at the forefront of modern, greener jet engine design. The increasing demand for more people to fly while reducing carbon emissions is one of the greatest aeronautical engineering challenges. Efficiency requires engines to run hotter and faster, but the best materials are already running close to their limits. At the Cambridge Rolls-Royce UTC, we design metal alloys

Our wellbeing is essential to our overall quality of life. But what is wellbeing? Why is it so hard to pin down? How is it different to mental health, and what can we do to understand, measure and improve it? We talked with psychologist and neuroscientist Dr Amy Orben, psychiatrist Dr Tamsin Ford, and welfare economist Dr Mark Fabian to try and get to grips with wellbeing. In doing so, we learnt

How do we feed a growing world population whilst minimising the impact on habitats and species? Anca Serban, PhD student in the Department of Geography, discusses these issues in relation to her work in India and how collaborating with a wide range of disciplines enables her to explore the trade offs of managing conservation without impinging on people’s livelihoods or increasing poverty in

'How can the government stem the tide of migrant workers coming to the UK?'. This question has been asked with increasing vigour by those who perceive immigration as a threat rather than a benefit to the UK economy. In this video, Catherine Barnard considers whether it is possible to restrict free movement of workers under EU law, both as it now stands and going forward. Professor Barnard is

The conviction of Oscar Pistorius for committing culpable homicide in relation to the shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp made worldwide news. In this video Professor Christopher Forsyth reflects on his previous comments (see https://www.law.cam.ac.uk/press/news/2015/01/law-focus-mental-element-murder-reflections-pistorius-case-christopher-forsyth) about the original conviction, and

On 9th April 2024 the European Court of Human Rights delivered Grand Chamber rulings in three cases relating to climate change: Carême v. France - https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-233261 Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Others - https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-233174 Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland - https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-233206 In

What role do our genes play in influencing our body weight and what we like to eat? Why do some people gain weight more easily than others, and is it all down to genes or are there other factors at play? In this episode, we talked with a clinician and scientist Sadaf Farooqi, health psychologist Theresa Marteau, and geographer Thomas Burgoine about the multitude of factors that go into

Each node of the network represents a different brain region and is colour-coded according to the larger area is located in. Pairs of nodes are linked if the activity of the two regions is found to synchronize a lot of the time during an fMRI brain scan, and the size of nodes represents how many other regions a given node is linked to. The resulting network is used to analyze information flow in

The variant hunters are helping us to understand how and why the COVID-19 virus is spreading, allowing us to fight back against the COVID-19 pandemic. Hear from some of the scientists behind the UK’s nationwide sequencing effort to track SARS-CoV-2. Sir Patrick Vallance (the government’s Chief Scientific Adviser) also describes how the expertise that came together during the pandemic is now

Dr Paolo Bombelli is a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Professor Christopher Howe, in the Department of Biochemistry. His research looks to utilise the photosynthetic chemistry of plants to create biophotovoltaic devices, a sustainable source of solar power. For over five years, Dr Bombelli has been taking his research out of the lab to science festivals, schools and design fairs;

A short documentary to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Faculty of Music, its genesis, characters and culture as a vanguard of excellence, from its origins in the aftermath of WWII to the present. To find out more about how to support the work of the Music Faculty, please visit: https://www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-cambridge/music Directed and edited by Tom Andrews Music sound

The recent Supreme Court decision in Vince v Wyatt aroused much media interest because it allowed an ex-wife to proceed with a financial claim against her ex-husband, who became a millionaire years after they divorced. The judgement is available at http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2015/14.html In this video Dr Brian Sloan describes the reasoning behind the decision focusing on the limits of

Was Darwin the most revolutionary scientist ever? If, by revolutionary, we mean the scientist whose discovery initiated the most seismic overturning of pre-existing science, the honour would at least be contested by Newton, Einstein and the architects of quantum theory. Those same physicists might have outclassed Darwin in sheer intellectual fire power. But Darwin probably did revolutionize the

Dr Jane Goodall DBE talks about the environmental crisis and her reasons for hope. “Every single day that we live, we make some impact on the planet. We have a choice as to what kind of impact that is.” At the age of 26, Jane Goodall travelled from England to what is now Tanzania, Africa, and ventured into the little-known world of wild chimpanzees. Among her many discoveries, perhaps the

At the 2012 Conservative Party conference, new Justice Secretary Chris Grayling announced plans to amend the criminal law to ensure that even householders who react in a way that may seem disproportionate in the cold light of day will be protected from prosecution. This reopened a long-running discussion about the balance of legal rights between the home owner and those trespassing onto the

Researchers at Cambridge’s Centre for Natural Material Innovation have invented a cheaper, greener alternative to ‘knocking through’ by making innovative use of engineered wood. House-owners often consider ‘knocking through’ walls to achieve more open-plan living or changing layouts. The results may be impressive, but they come at a sizeable financial and environmental cost. But what if

The trial of Oscar Pistorius for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp aroused worldwide media interest. From the beginning Pistorius claimed that he had no intent to kill Reeva because when he fired the fatal shots her he thought he was firing at an intruder. And so whether he had the necessary intent to kill became a crucial issue in his trial. In this video Professor Christopher Forsyth

In this video Dr Chris Forman shows us his incredible images of a fruit fly foot and beetle antenna. Under the Microscope is a collection of videos produced by Cambridge University that show glimpses of the natural and man-made world in stunning close-up. You can see the whole series here: http://bit.ly/A6bwCE Dr Forman: "Nature has found remarkable ways of using small amounts of energy to

This image shows individual particles of cobalt oxide. The particles are engineered to form a superlattice or 3D mesh structure, which has a large surface area and a high chemical activity. Giorgio Divitini, based in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge, works on the application of electron microscopy to nanomaterials for energy. 'Nanomaterials Up Close

Welcome (or welcome back) to Mind Over Chatter, the Cambridge University Podcast! One series at a time, we break down complex issues into simple questions. In this second series, we’re talking all about the future. We’ll explore the nature of time itself - What even is the future? And is it in front of or behind us? - and we’ll also cover some of today’s most pressing questions, like how

The world needs more people who can think mathematically to solve its mounting problems. This is what drives the researchers behind NRICH, Cambridge’s flagship maths outreach project. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, NRICH spent the last two years in emergency rescue mode, helping learners in Covid-19 lockdown. At one point, its online resources (nrich.maths.org) were attracting over a

The episode explores the topic of extreme weather and its impact on communities and asks: What does extreme weather mean for us? The speakers highlight the importance of connecting research to real-world impacts and the need for collective action. They discuss the devastating losses of climate disasters, the challenges of adaptation and the power of nature. They also emphasise the importance of

This video discusses explores some aspects of the important decision of the Supreme Court in Nicklinson (R (Nicklinson and another) v Ministry of Justice; R (AM) v The DPP [2014] UKSC 38) focusing on the minority judgement of Baroness Hale. The case can be found at http://supremecourt.uk/decided-cases/docs/UKSC_2013_0235_Judgment.pdf The case is also discussed on Nicola's blog at https://blog.fitz

As a national vaccination programme begins in the UK’s fight against COVID-19, we look back to 1950s America when a group of teenagers (and Elvis) inspired a fresh look at pro-vaccine public health information. Vaccination programmes are considered to be one of the greatest public health achievements in history. Yet recent years have seen a rise in vaccine-preventable diseases like measles as a

Artificial Intelligence can be found in every aspect of our lives. From A-level grade predicting algorithms to Netflix recommendations, AI is set to change the choices we make and how our personal information will be used. In this episode, we explore the future of AI - its potential benefits and harms - with our three guests. Beth Singler told us about the different cultural consequences of AI,

In this video Dr Sungjune Jung shows us the fluid structures produced by the impact of two liquid jets. Cambridge University's Under the Microscope is a collection of videos that show glimpses of the natural and man-made world in stunning close-up. Check out the rest of the series here: http://bit.ly/A6bwCE Dr Jung: "This video shows the evolution of the flow structures generated from the

In an interview with the BBC yesterday (23 July 2015), US President Barack Obama argued that having "the United Kingdom in the European Union gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the transatlantic union and is part of the cornerstone of institutions built after World War II that has made the world safer and more prosperous." He continued: "And we want to make sure that United

The House of Lords Reform Bill, which is currently before Parliament, is the latest of many attempts to reform the upper chamber of the UK Parliament. It is over a hundred years since the enactment of the Parliament Act 1911, which changed the balance of power between the Lords and the Commons, but which was intended only as a stopgap measure pending the transformation of the Lords into an