Topic description and stories

Cambridge researchers have played a vital role in the fight back against COVID-19, from the use of genomics to track its spread and mathematic modelling to understand infection rates through to innovative screening programmes to keep its students and staff safe.

Underactive immune response may explain obesity link to COVID-19 severity

20 March 2023

Individuals who are obese may be more susceptible to severe COVID-19 because of a poorer inflammatory immune response, say Cambridge scientists.

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Man putting on a facemask

Widespread use of control measures such as facemasks is vital to suppress the pandemic as lockdown lifts, say scientists

31 Mar 2021

A new mathematical model suggests that the easing of lockdown must be accompanied by wider and more effective use of control measures such as...

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Visualisation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus

Cambridge leads national drug trial to prevent deaths after COVID-19 patients leave hospital

25 Mar 2021

A UK-wide study is being launched to reduce the number of people who die in the months following a stay in hospital with COVID-19.

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Hunting for COVID-19 variants

22 Mar 2021

Professor Sharon Peacock explains the story behind the UK's world-leading SARS-CoV-2 genomics capability.

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Coronavirus

Cambridge leads trial to see if tapeworm drug can boost protection from COVID-19 among vulnerable

22 Mar 2021

UK researchers are launching a clinical trial to investigate if the drug niclosamide, usually used to treat tapeworms, can prevent COVID-19 infection...

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Use of AI to fight COVID-19 risks harming 'disadvantaged groups', experts warn

16 Mar 2021

Rapid deployment of artificial intelligence and machine learning to tackle coronavirus must still go through ethical checks and balances, or we risk...

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Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2

Machine learning models for diagnosing COVID-19 are not yet suitable for clinical use

15 Mar 2021

Systematic review finds that machine learning models for detecting and diagnosing COVID-19 from medical images have major flaws and biases, making...

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Boy wearing face mask

Pandemic restrictions aggravating known triggers for self-harm and poor mental health among children and young people

10 Mar 2021

Experts have issued a stark warning about the effects of the pandemic on the mental health of children and young people.

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School in Kampala, Uganda

School closures may have wiped out a year of academic progress for pupils in Global South, study warns

09 Mar 2021

As much as a year’s worth of past academic progress made by disadvantaged children in the Global South may have been wiped out by school closures...

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Person wearing wedding ring

Genomics study identifies routes of transmission of coronavirus in care homes

03 Mar 2021

Genomic surveillance – using information about genetic differences between virus samples – can help identify how SARS-CoV-2 spreads in care home...

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Vaccines: how to make sense of reports on their effectiveness

02 Mar 2021

Dr Mark Toshner cuts through the noise to sum up the latest on vaccine efficacy for The Conversation.

Here is what scientists know about new COVID-19 variant B1525

01 Mar 2021

Prof Sharon Peacock, Director of COG-UK, the COVID-19 genomics consortium, gets you up to speed on new variant B1525, which may have emerged in...

A silent epidemic of grief

01 Mar 2021

Major changes in bereavement care have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, amid a flood of demand for help from bereaved people, according to new...

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