Articles about 'Duncan Astle'

Four major turning points around ages nine, 32, 66 and 83 create five broad eras of neural wiring over the average human lifespan.

Cambridge scientists have shown that placing physical constraints on an artificially-intelligent system – in much the same way that the human brain has to develop and operate within physical and biological constraints – allows it to develop features of the brains of complex organisms in order to solve tasks.

Researchers have identified two subgroups of adolescents who self-harm and have shown that it is possible to predict those individuals at greatest risk almost a decade before they begin self-harming.

Duncan Astle is a neuroscientist on a mission to understand why the brains of some children develop differently to others – and how it affects not just their education but their lives. He also chairs the University’s LGBT+ Staff Network. He talks about the Network’s recent decision to sign a declaration that trans rights are human rights.

The first lockdown led to a significant increase in symptoms of depression among children, highlighting the unintended consequences of school closures, according to a new study from the University of Cambridge.

Academics, students and professional members of staff from across the University have been recognised in this year’s Vice-Chancellor’s Research Impact and Engagement Awards for their work in areas including COVID-19 testing, PPE production and online engagement.

Different learning difficulties do not correspond to specific regions of the brain, as previously thought, say researchers at the University of Cambridge. Instead poor connectivity between ‘hubs’ within the brain is much more strongly related to children’s difficulties.

To mark LGBTSTEM Day, celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer scientists, engineers and mathematicians around the world, our researchers tell us why celebrating diversity is important – and why identities really do matter. 

Our brains begin to form in the womb but continue to take shape into adolescence. In a series of articles, we look at how the latest research could help us support children’s development, helping them overcome learning disorders and build resilience against future mental health problems.