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In April 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, close to 1.6 billion children and youth were out of school due to temporary closures, representing more than 90% of students around the world, according to the United Nations. Follow the podcast: https://mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen In this episode, we take an international perspective with our guests Arif Naveed, Aya Waller

Researchers have observed the process of evolution by natural selection at work in robots, by constructing a ‘mother’ robot that can design, build and test its own ‘children’, and then use the results to improve the performance of the next generation, without relying on computer simulation or human intervention.

Run by the University’s Environment and Energy Section, the ‘Living Lab’ is a programme that provides Cambridge students with opportunities to improve the University’s sustainability. Students can propose projects and will receive support from the E&E Section. The University’s buildings, grounds and operations act as a real-life test-bed to support participants’ professional skills

In combining theory and experiments, we should have two objectives in mind. The first objective is to confront the theory with some data to see whether the theory is at all consistent with the behavior exhibited in the laboratory. Clearly, there is much that can be learned about the theory from the data, quite apart from any notion of "testing" the theory. We hope to learn whether the theory is

From crop science to robotics, supply chains to economics, Cambridge University researchers are working with farmers and industry to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and profitability.

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

Could virtual reality help you overcome anxiety? University of Cambridge PhD student Lucie Daniel-Watanabe is working with award-winning gaming company Ninja Theory to test this out. Using virtual reality, you learn a breathing technique to steady your heartbeat… …before being locked in a dungeon with a terrifying monster. The monster can’t see you, but can sense fear. Can you use the

Cambridge University Library and the National Maritime Museum have digitised the Board of Longitude archive. The archive will available online at https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/longitude from 18th July 2013. The Board of Longitude sent astronomers on voyages of exploration to test methods of navigation and help make better maps. This is the second film of the series and looks at some of

The future is becoming harder to predict thanks to climate change and a global pandemic. But a large part of what the future will look like is in our own hands. The biggest challenge to creating a better future may be political rather than scientific or technological. Subscribe to the podcast here: mind-over-chatter.captivate.fm/listen In this episode, Diane Coyle, professor of public policy,

Researchers have developed a robotic sensor that incorporates artificial intelligence techniques to read braille at speeds roughly double that of most human readers. The research team, from the University of Cambridge, used machine learning algorithms to teach a robotic sensor to quickly slide over lines of braille text. The robot was able to read the braille at *315 words per minute at close to

Rotifers are tiny animals that survive against all the odds. They are also known for not having had sex for 80 million years. We follow Dr Alan Tunnacliffe, award-winning Cambridge researcher at the Institute of Biotechnology, as he tests their super-powers by draining 90% of the water in their microscopic bodies, heats them to boiling point and freezes them in liquid nitrogen. Still they thrive!

Rotifers are tiny animals that survive against all the odds. They are also known for not having had sex for 80 million years. We follow Dr Alan Tunnacliffe, award-winning Cambridge researcher at the Institute of Biotechnology, as he tests their super-powers by draining 90% of the water in their microscopic bodies, heats them to boiling point and freezes them in liquid nitrogen. Still they thrive!

Content warning: this film contains images of blood and surgery For people with organ failure, transplantation is the only option. A lack of suitable organs for transplantation means patients die every day. Researchers in the University’s Department of Surgery are using large animal models to understand why donated organs become damaged and unsuitable for transplantation, and to test promising

The Cambridge University Spaceflight Society are loading screams onto a smartphone that will be blasted into outer space later this year. The public are invited to submit their screams, which will be emitted while in orbit at the same time as the phone records - to test if it's possible to capture the sound of screaming in space. Members of the University's Office of External Affairs and

An innovative project at the University of Cambridge will uncover some of the hidden histories of illuminated manuscripts, thanks to the application of techniques more commonly found in scientific laboratories. The MINIARE project will help conservators repair priceless works of art and provide new insights into the cultural, social and economic circumstances of their production. And, crucially

What’s the best way to change someone’s mind? Is it even possible? Mary Beard meets climate justice activist Mikaela Loach, to find out how she persuades people with her campaigns. Snappy slogans are essential, but Mary reveals that one of the most famous slogans ever - I came, I saw, I conquered - was actually the work of Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. The ancient Greeks and Romans took

Hear from Thomas Roulet, Professor of Organisational Sociology and Leadership at Cambridge Judge Business School and Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge, about why generation z is not the laziest at work. Research shows that younger generations may have different expectations of work, says social scientist Prof Roulet. Today, work doesn’t give the same economic security – including the

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. Rosalyn is from Edinburgh, and is studying Land Economy (Environment, Law and Economics). In her 60 Second Impression, she talks about

The last few decades of human prosperity have taken a devastating ecological toll. This is in part because nature is absent from the accounting systems that dictate national economies. In February 2021, the Cambridge economist Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta published a ground-breaking report on the economics of biodiversity. Watch Sir Partha outline the radical thinking required to reshape global