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Read the full story here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/anglo-saxon-bbq Very few people in England ate large amounts of meat before the Vikings settled, and there is no evidence that elites ate more meat than other people, a major new bioarchaeological study reveals. But its sister study also suggests that peasants occasionally hosted lavish meat feasts for their rulers. Their findings overturn

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

Manta rays are threatened worldwide and we still know little about their reproductive strategies. The ability to scan pregnant individuals will be invaluable in the quest to protect them. A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Manta Trust has successfully scanned a pregnant wild reef manta ray underwater to obtain clear ultrasound images of her foetus, using the world’s

Update: We've closed www.becambridge.com now. Do visit our new website https://www.disability.admin.cam.ac.uk/ ----------------- Cambridge students come from a wide range of backgrounds and from all over the UK (and beyond) - watch our film to meet some disabled students studying at Cambridge. Information and guidance for disabled students thinking about applying to Cambridge can be found on our

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

Scientists at the University of Cambridge are leading an international project to develop 3D versions of breast tumours, which can be studied using virtual reality, thanks to a £20 million award from Cancer Research UK. This will allow scientists and doctors to study every cell and aspect of a tumour in unprecedented detail and could change how the disease is diagnosed, treated and managed. http:

Climate changes from millions of years ago are recorded at daily rate in ancient sea shells, new research shows. A huge X-ray microscope has revealed growth bands in plankton shells that show how shell chemistry records the sea temperature. The results could allow scientists to chart short timescale changes in ocean temperatures hundreds of millions of years ago. This video shows computerised

The UK Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Mark Walport, speaking with CSaP's Founding Director Dr David Cleevely at the CSaP's annual conference (18th April 2013). Sir Mark delivered the keynote address at the conference, his first major speech since taking office. For more, visit: http://www.csap.cam.ac.uk/news/article-sir-mark-walport-set-out-his-priorities/

‘Humility, energy and ambition’…three essential characteristics the new Principal of Homerton College believes students coming to the University of Cambridge should seek to emulate. Lord Simon Woolley, a cross-bencher in the House of Lords and founder of Operation Black Vote, took up his post at the beginning of the month. A few weeks prior to that he sat down with former Homertonian, and

A new report on public attitudes to the future relationship between the UK and the EU, carried out by researchers from the University of Cambridge, reveals a “striking degree of consensus” that full Single Market access should be retained, while skilled EU migrants – those with a job to come to – should be given entry to the UK labour market in return. Full report:

TIGR2ESS, ‘Transforming India's Green Revolution by Research and Empowerment for Sustainable food Supplies’, is a major collaboration of over 20 organisations led by the University of Cambridge, funded by GCRF. India is developing fast, and a sustainable new approach to food production is urgently needed. TIGR2ESS is working to shape a fairer, more reliable food and water system for the

Staff at Cambridge’s University Library took images 80 years ago of the move from its old to new building. To commemorate the 80th anniversary, the University Library will be displaying the photographic albums, alongside other related material, in the Library Entrance Hall exhibition cases. The pages of each album will be turned regularly to allow visitors to see as many images as possible. The

James Deutsch directs the Africa Program of the New York based Wildlife Conservation Society, with 1,100 staff implementing conservation work in 20 African countries. James studied philosophy at Harvard and biological anthropology and zoology at Cambridge King's College before holding a research fellowship at Churchill College and a lectureship in conservation biology at Imperial College, London.

Breaking The Silence is Cambridge University's campaign to promote zero tolerance of sexual misconduct. Aimed at establishing a culture where all our members are treated with respect, the campaign highlights new training, support and guidance available to students and staff. The campaign includes prevention initiatives for students, including consent workshops, bystander training and codes of

Join us for a live event featuring Nobel Prize winner Sir Roger Penrose and Professor Eiichiro Komatsu Director of the Max-Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Munich, to talk about BLACK HOLES, COSMOLOGY, AND SPACETIME SINGULARITIES. Sir Roger and Eiichiro will take us on a journey through space and time, looking forward to new insights from future experiments. The livestream for The Big Bang

In this video, Gates Cambridge Alumna Dr Molly Fox discusses her research which suggests that people living in industrialised countries may be more likely to develop Alzheimer's. This points to what's known as the 'hygiene hypothesis', the theory that the greatly reduced contact with bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms in the developed world can lead to a weaker immune system and increased

Sherpas have evolved to become superhuman mountain climbers, extremely efficient at producing the energy to power their bodies even when oxygen is scarce, suggests new research published today in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Read the full article here: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/05/16/1700527114.full

Sport has long been at the heart of Cambridge life. With the London Olympics starting this week and the new £16 million state-of-the-art Cambridge Sports Centre currently under construction, sport at Cambridge continues to be a cornerstone of life at this University - the Cambridge 'pulse'. This short film gives a snapshot of the vast range of sporting activity that takes place at the University

Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores new and original thinking on some of the most pressing issues of the day. The aim of the Festival is to fuel people’s interest in arts, humanities and social sciences through a series of events ranging from talks, debates and film screenings to exhibitions and comedy nights. Of the over 250 events at the Festival, most are free. www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/

Prior to the 2015 general election, the Conservative Party undertook in its manifesto to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 and to enact a British Bill of Rights. In this video, Mark Elliott addresses three key questions raised by these proposals: First, what lies behind the desire of some politicians to secure the Human Rights Act’s repeal? Second, how might a British Bill of Rights differ from

Learn more here: https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/third-thumb How easily could you get to grips with a third thumb? The Plasticity Lab at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (@MRCCBU) tested Dani Clode's robotic Third Thumb device @royalsociety Summer Exhibition and showed that the public found it surprisingly easy. Testing technology on a diverse range of people is essential for ensuring new

The common cuckoo is known for its deceitful nesting behaviour – by laying eggs in the nests of other bird species, it fools host parents into rearing cuckoo chicks alongside their own. While cuckoos mimic their host’s eggs, new research by Dr Gabriel Jamie has revealed that a group of parasitic finch species in Africa have evolved to mimic their host’s chicks - and with astonishing accuracy

Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores new and original thinking on some of the most pressing issues of the day. The aim of the Festival is to fuel people’s interest in arts, humanities and social sciences through a series of events ranging from talks, debates and film screenings to exhibitions and comedy nights. Of the over 250 events at the Festival, most are free. www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk/

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. Sophie studying Natural Sciences. In her 60 Second Impression, she talks about the things she loves about being a student at Cambridge

Have you ever been torn between doing what's expected of you, and pursuing your dreams? This is a new song by Cambridge University student, Xadi, which is an argument between the two sides of himself, about whether to 'grow up' or not. The guy on the left is a bit of a pain, but he makes some good points.

Stephen Hawking helps to launch Centre for the Future of Intelligence Artificial intelligence has the power to eradicate poverty and disease or hasten the end of human civilisation as we know it – according to a speech delivered by Professor Stephen Hawking this evening. For more information and a transcript of Professor Hawking's speech, click here:

A new MPhil programme at the University of Cambridge will deliver postgraduate training in the search for life’s origins on Earth and its discovery on planets beyond Earth. The course will explore the requirements for life’s beginnings: from its astrophysical origins to the emergence of biospheres, providing the essential knowledge for research in planetary science and life in the Universe.

Cambridge scientists and PhD students are at the forefront of monitoring the activity of the Bárðarbunga volcano in Iceland. The research group, led by Professor Bob White of the Department of Earth Sciences, is monitoring the ongoing massive volcanic intrusion through its array of seismic instrumentation - never before has such an intrusion been so well documented. The data they gather is

Folic acid deficiency can cause severe health problems in offspring, including spina bifida, heart defects and placental abnormalities. A study out today reveals that a mutation in a gene necessary for the metabolism of folic acid not only impacts the immediate offspring but can also have detrimental health effects on the next several generations. The new research, which also sheds light on the

A dazzling journey through the decorative arts: from the hand-crafted luxuries of the Renaissance to the first stirrings of mass commerce in the Enlightenment. Each of the 300 beautiful and engaging objects was once a treasured possession, revealing the personal tastes and aspirations of its owner, and preserving precious memories. Witness the impact of global trade on European tastes: the lust

To learn more, and find out if you're eligible, click here: http://bit.ly/CambridgeFoundationYear The Cambridge Foundation Year is free to students, who will come from a range of backgrounds, including: care-leavers, those estranged from their families, and those who have missed significant periods of learning because of health issues. Others will be people who have been unable to access suitable

Cambridge University has produced a series of films about five of this year’s Pilkington Prize winners. These films go behind the scenes to show Cambridge teaching in action as well as inviting winners to explain their passion for teaching and reveal some of their trade secrets. Dr Matthew Mason:University Physiologist. Matthew’s citation describes him as persistently striving to refine his

Cambridge research that will enable scientists to grow and study embryos in the lab for almost two weeks has been named as the People’s Choice for Science magazine’s ‘Breakthrough of the Year 2016’. Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz at the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience has developed a new technique that allows embryos to develop in vitro, in the absence of

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. Jono is in his final year at Cambridge studying History. In his 60 Second Impression, he talks about the academic support he has

Trials of a new needle-free coronavirus vaccine have begun in Cambridge, the city where it was developed by Professor Jonathan Heeney. The DIOS-CoVax vaccine is administered through a blast of air. It’s the first step towards a 'variant proof' coronavirus vaccine, which aims to protect against the virus that causes COVID-19 and future coronaviruses that threaten pandemics. Volunteers are being

Dr Kathy Liddell, who leads the Cambridge Centre for Law, Medicine and Life Sciences, explains why it’s important to understand how the law can help advance – and help control – new biomedical technologies. One area of interest to the Centre is gene editing – the use of ‘molecular scissors’ that snip out and replace faulty DNA. Read more about how Cambridge researchers are working

Dr Iris Möller of the Cambridge Coastal Research Unit at the Department of Geography of the University of Cambridge explains how an understanding of natural processes and landforms can help us develop win-win solutions for reducing flood risk. Her international collaborative research team has been able to prove that coastal salt marsh protects sea defences during storm. When submerged in up to 2

Evolutionary Psychology and the Legacy of Sociobiology Professor Philip Kitcher (Columbia University, New York City, USA) Summary: The human sociobiology of the 1970s and 1980s was, I have argued, characterised by overly speculative hypotheses about human nature and the evolution of human tendencies to behaviour. Evolutionary psychology is often alleged to represent a significantly different, and

"It is often said that the lift on a wing is generated because the flow moving over the top surface has a longer distance to travel and therefore needs to go faster. This common explanation is actually wrong." Here, aerodynamics expert Professor Holger Babinsky from the University of Cambridge's Department of Engineering debunks a popular, yet misleading, explanation of how wings lift. For more

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. James is from North Yorkshire, and is studying Computer Science. In his 60 Second Impression, he talks about the unpretentious

Alison is studying Natural Sciences. In this film, she talks about the things she loves about studying at Cambridge, her diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome, the support she has received, and choosing her College. This film was produced as part of the Disability Resource Centre's Asperger Syndrome Student Project, http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/disability/asperger/. For more students talking about

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. Katharine is from Cumbria, and is studying Philosophy. In her 60 Second Impression, she talks about taking part in drama productions,

In August 1984 two physicists arrived at a formula that transformed our understanding of string theory, an achievement now recognised by a major award. Professor Michael Green of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics explains how string theory has taken unexpected directions. In December 2013 Professor Michael Green of Cambridge University and Professor John Schwarz of

Researchers have developed a jelly-like material that can withstand the equivalent of an elephant standing on it, and completely recover to its original shape, even though it’s 80% water. The soft-yet-strong material, developed by a team at the University of Cambridge, looks and feels like a squishy jelly, but acts like an ultra-hard, shatterproof glass when compressed, despite its high water

An unassuming brown pebble, found more than a decade ago by a fossil hunter in Sussex, has been confirmed as the first example of fossilised brain tissue from a dinosaur. The fossil, most likely from a species closely related to Iguanodon, displays distinct similarities to the brains of modern-day crocodiles and birds. Learn more here:

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. Richard is from Birmingham, and is studying Education. In his 60 Second Impression, he talks about the advantages of being at a

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. Hannah is from Leeds, and is studying Law. In her 60 Second Impression, she talks about how she chose her College, the different

Technology has advanced to the point where the condition of bridges, tunnels and buildings can be monitored in unprecedented detail. Now a new Centre at Cambridge has been formed to kick-start the smart infrastructure revolution. London Bridge, so far as we know, is not falling down. Whether we would be able to tell if it was about to, however, is a different question. And, if it was, we would

Cambridge students tell us how they're feeling about voting in the General Election, and whether they would consider a career in politics in the future. ️ What is at stake for the UK General Election? In this new video series, students and academics from the University of Cambridge share their insights on some of the biggest themes facing our country at this crucial moment, from AI to racial

COVID-19 is caused by a virus that jumped from animals to humans - and then spread rapidly. The risk of this happening again, causing another pandemic, is very real. Cambridge researchers have looked at all the major ways this might happen, to work out what might be done to reduce the risk. Read more here: