Opinion: Why danger is exciting – but only to some people
06 September 2016Valerie Voon (Department of Psychiatry) discusses what makes some people want to base jump off a cliff, while others don’t even enjoy a rollercoaster ride.
Oesophageal cancer treatments could be tailor-made for individual patients, study finds
06 September 2016Tailored, targeted treatment for patients with oesophageal cancer could be developed after scientists discovered that the disease can be classified into three different subtypes
Young people exposed to vaping ads less likely to think occasional smoking is bad for health
05 September 2016Exposure to advertisements for e-cigarettes may decrease the perceived health risks of occasional tobacco smoking, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge, prompting concern that this may lead more young people to experiment with smoking.
Artificial pancreas trial in young children with diabetes receives €4.6millon grant from European Commission
05 September 2016An international trial to test whether an artificial pancreas can help young children manage their type 1 diabetes will begin next year, thanks to a major grant awarded by the European Commission.
New exoplanet think tank will ask the big questions about extra-terrestrial worlds
05 September 2016An international exoplanet ‘think tank’ is meeting this week in Cambridge to deliberate on the ten most important questions that humanity could answer in the next decade about planets outside our solar system.
New model could help improve prediction of outbreaks of Ebola and Lassa fever
02 September 2016Potential outbreaks of diseases such as Ebola and Lassa fever may be more accurately predicted thanks to a new mathematical model developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge. This could in turn help inform public health messages to prevent outbreaks spreading more widely.
Why mole rats are more flexible than we previously thought
30 August 2016One of the most interesting facts about mole rats – that, as with ants and termites, individuals specialise in particular tasks throughout their lives – turns out to be wrong. Instead, a new study led by the University of Cambridge shows that individuals perform different roles at different ages and that age rather than caste membership accounts for contrasts in their behaviour.
Tiny changes in Parkinson’s protein can have “dramatic” impact on processes that lead to the disease
30 August 2016Specific mutations in the protein associated with Parkinson’s Disease, in which just one of its 140 building blocks is altered, can make a dramatic difference to processes which may lead to the condition’s onset, researchers have found.
When beauty matters: the politics of how we look
25 August 2016Questions of beauty and its politics will be discussed at a summer school and conference next week (30 August to 3 September 2016). Participants will examine the ways in which perceptions and experiences of race, ethnicity, sexuality and colonialism converge to exert powerful influences on our lives.
Astronomers identify a young heavyweight star in the Milky Way
22 August 2016A young star over 30 times more massive than the Sun could help us understand how the most extreme stars in the Universe are born.
