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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 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,

New research shows that chimpanzees search for the right tools from a key plant species when preparing to ‘ant dip’ - a crafty technique enabling them to feast on army ants without getting bitten. In the first clip, a female chimpanzee is shown 'ant-dipping' using the ideal tool made from the shrub Alchornea hirtella as a male chimpanzee looks on with envy. The second clip captures a

New Cambridge students: how are you getting on with your formal gowns? Some new @SidneySussexCollege students told us a bit about theirs during matriculation day #Cambridge #Freshers2023 #CambridgeUni #CambridgeUniversity #Uni

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

Cambridge University Library has opened a vast, new £17m storage facility on the outskirts of Ely – capable of holding 4 million books, manuscripts and other objects that have been deemed low-use by the University Library and other University libraries and collections. The state-of-the-art storage facility has been built because the University Library, which is already home to more than nine

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:

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

The skeleton of a fin whale, suspended outside the entrance of the Museum of Zoology, has inspired awe and affection among sightseers and scientists for the past 145 years. As part of the redevelopment of the Museum, the famous whale skeleton was taken apart and place in storage. The ultimate aim of the redevelopment project will be to completely refurbish the display spaces of the Museum, to

Darwinian ideas about cancer Professor Harold Varmus (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre, New York, USA) Summary: Charles Darwins ideas about natural selection were developed through meticulous observations about species variation, based on the appearance and behaviour of intact organisms and their visible components. Advances during the past century in cell biology, molecular biology,

This film shares the experiences of three people with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) who took part in a pilot study of a new treatment for some of the difficult behaviours they experience. The new treatment involves vagus nerve stimulation, and this film aims to provide all the information needed to help other people with PWS decide whether or not they would wish to be part of a future trial of this

A new generation of pollution monitors developed by the University of Cambridge, together with academic and industrial partners, could help gather the evidence essential to tackle poor air quality. Air pollution is the world’s largest single environmental health risk, causing one in every eight deaths according to figures released in 2014 by the World Health Organization. The new sensors are

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. David is from Jersey, and is studying Veterinary Medicine. In his 60 Second Impression, he talks about continuing the

Understanding and changing the world beyond 2050 Professor Lord Martin Rees (University of Cambridge, UK) Summary: By 2050, we will all be increasingly empowered by technology that potentially offers huge benefits to the developing and the developed world. But these same advances will pose novel ethical dilemmas, and render our ever-more interconnected world vulnerable to new and disruptive

Researchers in Cambridge and Exeter have discovered that jackdaws use their eyes to communicate with each other -- the first time this has been shown in non-primates. While what humans do with their eyes has been well studied, we know almost nothing about whether birds communicate with members of the same species with their eyes. The new study, published today in Biology Letters, shows that

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

Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this video is accurate at the time it was uploaded, changes are likely to occur. It is therefore very important that you check the University and College websites for any updates before you apply for the course by visiting www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk and again before accepting any offer to study at the

Microbes 'feel' their way along a solid surface, much as a blindfolded person would move near a wall, according to a new study. Using high-speed microscopic imaging, University of Cambridge researchers have found that algae move away from surfaces as a result of contact between the surface and the cells' flagella or cilia -- the hair-like appendages that propel cells through their fluid

After long negotiations, on 19 February Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the European Council had agreed a new settlement for the United Kingdom in the European Union. In line with the Conservative Party manifesto, this agreement has triggered a referendum on whether Britain should remain in the European Union to be held on Thursday 23 June. In this video, Catherine Barnard summarises

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 In this video we see a killer T cell of the immune system attacking a cancer cell. Professor Gillian Griffiths: "Cells of the immune system protect the body against pathogens. If cells in our

http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/whale-tale-a-dutch-seascape-and-its-lost-leviathan Earlier this year a conservator at the Hamilton Kerr Institute made a surprising discovery while working on a painting owned by the Fitzwilliam Museum. As Shan Kuang removed the old varnish from the surface, she revealed the whale that had been the intended focus of the scene. In 1873 the Fitzwilliam Museum,

Read more about the research here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/male-dogs-four-times-more-likely-to-develop-contagious-cancer-on-nose-or-mouth-than-females Animation Credit: Emma Werner Canine Transmissible Venereal Tumour (CTVT) is an unusual cancer – it is infectious and can spread between dogs when they come into contact. The living cancer cells physically ‘transplant’ themselves

After long negotiations, on 19 February Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the European Council had agreed a new settlement for the United Kingdom in the European Union. In line with the Conservative Party manifesto, this agreement has triggered a referendum on whether Britain should remain in the European Union to be held on Thursday 23 June. In this video, Catherine Barnard examines

When you bury family members in a cemetery, you expect them to stay there. Not so 200 years ago, however, when body snatchers prowled the nation's burial grounds looking for subjects. An acute shortage of bodies eligible for dissection by student doctors in the late 17th century drove this cottage industry until the Anatomy Act of 1832, when dead bodies of all the unclaimed poor could legally

In the first round of the French Presidential election, Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen progressed to the runoff on 7 May, notwithstanding neither candidate having the backing of the traditionally powerful parliamentary parties. Will the new French President be hamstrung in power if she or he does not obtain a majority in the parliamentary elections of June

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.

This is a computer generated image from a clinical medical CT scan of the head. Generating such an image involves in-house software implementing technology spanning many years of research. Both skin and bone surfaces are extracted from the data using a technique designed specifically for high quality medical visualisation. The outer skin surface is displayed transparent and the skull surface is

Forests burn, glaciers melt and one million species face extinction. Can we humans save the planet from ourselves? In a new film, alumni Sir David Attenborough and Dr Jane Goodall DBE, and leading Cambridge University researchers, talk about the urgency of the climate crisis – and some of the solutions that will take us towards zero carbon. If we are to avoid climate disaster we must sharply

It was thought that no bronzes by Michelangelo had survived - now experts believe they have found not one, but two - with a tiny detail in a 500-year-old drawing providing vital evidence. - See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/michelangelo-bronzes-discovered They are naked, beautiful, muscular and ride triumphantly on two ferocious panthers. And now the secret of who created these

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

Newton Institute Web Seminars: newton.ac.uk/webseminars The last year has been a difficult time for climate science, with leaked emails undermining public confidence and perhaps contributing to the failure of Copenhagen to reach an agreement on emissions cuts. On top of this, mid-term elections in the US suggest it will be difficult for President Obama to carry into legislation any substantial

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

Newton Institute Web Seminars: newton.ac.uk/webseminars Cambridge University Science Festival lecture on Saturday 25 March 2011. Viruses, such as hepatitis and the common cold, have highly ordered protein containers that encapsulate the viral genomic material. They act as Trojan horses, transporting the genomic material inside a cell to hijack the cellular mechanism and produce new viruses.

Scientists have for the first time witnessed the mechanism behind explosive energy releases in the Sun's atmosphere, confirming new theories about how solar flares are created. New footage put together by an international team led by University of Cambridge researchers shows how entangled magnetic field lines looping from the Sun's surface slip around each other and lead to an eruption 35 times

Shankar Balasubramanian’s diary records 26 August 1997 as the day of “The Solexa Idea!” Sitting in the beer garden of the Panton Arms in Cambridge, he and David Klenerman sketched out their plans to watch DNA polymerase as it assembled the building blocks of life. Their ideas were progressing fast – and with them, something even more exciting. They realised that if they could watch the

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

Learn more about the exhibition here: https://bit.ly/IslandersShorthand @FitzMuseum presents a free, new exhibition exploring ancient Mediterranean island cultures.

Dr Amy Milton from Cambridge’s Department of Psychology relates how Requiem for a Dream, Hubert Selby’s bleak portrayal of drug addiction, motivated her to dedicate her academic career to finding treatments for addiction. Here she talks about this favourite book as part of ‘Novel Thoughts’, a series exploring the literary reading habits of eight Cambridge scientists. From illustrated

Dr Juliet Foster’s ongoing fascination with the portrayal of mental illness in literature was triggered by reading The Madness of a Seduced Woman by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer. Today she carries out research in Cambridge’s Department of Psychology. Here she talks about this favourite book as part of ‘Novel Thoughts’, a series exploring the literary reading habits of eight Cambridge

Footage of African greater honeyguide killing newly hatched foster sibling. For more info visit: www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/natural-born-killers

Having decided to become a doctor at the age of 10, Professor Carol Brayne’s love of the novels of Charles Dickens and George Eliot fired up her determination to tackle social inequalities in healthcare. Today she is Director of the Cambridge Institute of Public Health. Here she talks about this favourite book as part of ‘Novel Thoughts’, a series exploring the literary reading habits of

As a child, Dr Paul Coxon from Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, was fascinated by the madcap inventions of the boy hero in Jan Wahl’s SOS Bobomobile (illustrated by Fernando Krahn) – and he still likes to tinker with his own inventions in the lab today. Here he talks about this favourite book as part of ‘Novel Thoughts’, a series exploring the literary reading

As a mineral scientist, Professor Simon Redfern from Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences travels widely, and likes his visits to be about more than just the rocks. A recent trip to Kazakhstan was enlivened by reading Jamila by Chinghiz Aitmatov, a novella set in post-war Soviet Kyrgyzstan, on the borders of Kazakhstan. Here he talks about this favourite book as part of ‘Novel Thoughts’,

Karen Yu’s growing love of science as a young girl was galvanised by reading the novelisation of the Star Wars movies (Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker by George Lucas). Her desire to build her own fusion reactor eventually morphed into a PhD in industrial photonics, using lasers for nanoscale manufacturing (if not for lightsabers), at Cambridge’s Department of Engineering.

Cambridge is on the road looking for new undergraduates. Take a look at what A-Level students from Newcastle made of the events held at St James' Park.

Learn more about STEMing Africa here: https://stemingafricainitiative.wordpress.com Valentina Ndolo acquired new software skills during her PhD at Cambridge University that has allowed her to better map the spread of anthrax in East Africa.

The Vice-Chancellor marks the start of the new academic year this morning with a live annual address to the University community.