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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

The episode explores the topic of political legitimacy in a polarized world. The guests discuss the psychological and cognitive components of political beliefs, the impact of polarization on journalism, and the importance of understanding the perspectives of people on the ground. They emphasize the need for flexible thinking, reevaluating our own dogmas, and engaging in meaningful conversations

The campaign for the University and Colleges of Cambridge, the largest in Cambridge’s history, has raised over £2.2 billion. From bursaries, scholarships, and new academic posts to new initiatives, buildings and facilities, philanthropy is ensuring that Collegiate Cambridge continues to serve society through academic excellence. None of this is possible without the vision and generosity of our

Professor Didier Queloz hunts for extreme worlds and Earth twins in Cambridge’s Battcock Centre for Experimental Astrophysics. Here, he tells of the moment in 1995 when he became the first to discover a planet that orbits a star other than our Sun. Astronomers had speculated as to the existence of these distant worlds – called exoplanets – but, until the discovery of 51 Pegasi b by Queloz

This winter has seen the emergence of a new sub-variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This sub-variant – XBB1.5, or ‘Kraken’ – is the daughter of the globally-dominant Omicron. Professor Ravi Gupta from the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease tells us everything we need know about the sub-variant – and why it has surprised the scientific

Scientists have discovered six new species of frog the size of a thumbnail in the forests of Mexico, with one earning the distinction of Mexico’s smallest frog. All six species are smaller than a British 1p coin - around 15mm long - when fully grown. Adult males of the tiniest of these species, named Craugastor candelariensis, grow to only 13mm. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3xX5N14

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

Go Viral! is a new game developed in partnership between the UK Government and the University of Cambridge to help fight the ‘infodemic’: the deluge of false information about COVID-19. Based on ‘inoculation theory’, the game simulates an environment for users to play the role of a fake news producer, so they can understand how misinformation is circulated online. Play Go Viral! here:

A church has been uncovered on Cabo Verde’s Santiago Island, off the West African coast, which dates back to late 15th century, when Portugal colonised the islands that were later to play a highly strategic role in the global trade in African slaves. Archaeological excavations are helping Cabo Verdeans gain new insight into their remarkable and long-obscured history. Find out more here:

A ground-breaking imaging system to track malarial infection of blood cells in real time has been created by researchers at the University of Cambridge. Malaria is caused by Plasmodium falciparum parasites transmitted to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes. The researchers have focused on a mysterious step in the life cycle of the parasite occurring inside the infected human's

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, marked the start of the new academic year this morning by giving her annual address to the University community in the Senate House. Read more about Professor Prentice's speech to the University of Cambridge: https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/people-climate-and-a-national-role-for-cambridge-are-a-focus-of-vice-chancellors-first-annual

New digital techniques have allowed researchers to predict structural evolution of the skull in the lineage of Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, in an effort to fill in blanks in the fossil record, and provide the first 3D rendering of their last common ancestor. Here, lead researcher Dr. Aurélien Mounier from Cambridge's Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies describes part of the

In 1967, Henry Bennet-Clark discovered that fleas are able to jump extraordinary lengths by compressing part of their skeletal structure containing the protein resilin, which acts as a tense spring. However, debate continued as to how exactly fleas harness this explosive energy. New research from the University of Cambridge published in the Journal of Experimental Biology has used high-speed

New research across thousands of years of human evolution shows that our skeletons have become much lighter and more fragile since the invention of agriculture - a result of our increasingly sedentary lifestyles as we shifted from foraging to farming. This video shows the CT scanning used in this research. To find out more, visit:

In a new paper published in Nature, researchers at the Cavendish Lab used the quantum technique of electron 'spin' to enhance the power of organic solar cells, a much cheaper and more flexible alternative to the current commercial silicon-based solar cells. Find out more here: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/electron-spin-key-to-solar-cell-breakthrough-0 To do it, they used lasers - and lots

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, marked the start of the new academic year this morning by giving her annual address to the University community in the Senate House. Read more about Professor Prentice's speech to the University of Cambridge: https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/people-climate-and-a-national-role-for-cambridge-are-a-focus-of-vice-chancellors-first-annual

Find out more details here: https://bit.ly/3gOa2Tm The Cambridge Bursary Scheme has been extended for students starting their course in 2021. Non-repayable bursaries of up to £3,500 will be available to students with Home Fees status starting in 2021 onwards with residual* household incomes of up to £62,215. All new undergraduates in 2021 will be eligible for the new bursary scheme, regardless

Thomas Robert Malthus, who was born 250 years ago, became notorious for his ‘principle of population’. He argued that, because poverty was inevitable, some people would not find a seat at ‘nature’s table’ and would perish. In a new book, historians at Cambridge and Harvard set the life and work of this contentious thinker within a wider context – and look in particular at his

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. Find out more here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/artificial-brain-reveals-why-we-cant-always-believe-our-eyes This research was supported by the Leverhulme Trust and the Isaac Newton Trust. Reference Rideaux,

A chemical found in our breath could provide a flag to warn of dangerously-low blood sugar levels in patients with type 1 diabetes, according to new research the University of Cambridge. The finding, published today in the journal Diabetes Care, could explain why some dogs can be trained to spot the warning signs in patients. The researchers found that levels of the chemical isoprene rose