Topic description and stories

Madeline Lancaster in a lab

The neurobiologist who grew ‘mini-brain’ tissues in a dish

20 September 2021

When Madeline Lancaster’s attempt to grow neural stem cells ‘failed’ she had no idea that the floating balls of cells she saw in her petri dish were in fact miniature brain tissues. They would revolutionise our ability to study the early stages of brain development and take us closer to answering: what makes us human?

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The longitude problem: 300-year-old archive opened to the world

18 Jul 2013

It was the conundrum that baffled some of the greatest and most eccentric experts of the 18th century - and captivated the British public during an...

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Darwin and Hooker

‘My dear old friend’: Darwin the man revealed as 40-year correspondence published online

23 Apr 2013

The 40-year friendship of Charles Darwin and Joseph Hooker, the most significant and scientifically important of Darwin’s life, can now be explored...

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Westminster

Economic growth and infrastructure resilience are key for Government’s new Chief Scientific Adviser

18 Apr 2013

Sir Mark Walport set out his priorities today at the Centre for Science and Policy’s annual conference

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The Naked Scientists

Naked Scientists return to the radio this Sunday

12 Jan 2013

Following successful negotiations with the BBC, the University’s Naked Scientists will be taking to the Cambridgeshire airwaves again at 6pm on...

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Detail from the Ripley Scroll housed at the Fitzwilliam Museum

Body, soul and gold: quests for perfection in English alchemy

08 Nov 2012

From the elixirs of legend to transmutation of base metals into gold, medieval medical practice and social mobility were steeped in alchemy.

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Possible to power an iPod with a Pineapple?

Science Night Returns to Radio 5 live

14 Aug 2012

Following the huge success of BBC Radio 5 live’s inaugural Science Night last December, the University of Cambridge’s Dr Chris Smith and his fellow ‘...

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DNA

Cooperation, altruism and naturalism - two lectures on evolutionary themes

24 May 2012

Denis Alexander is the Director of The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion. Here he discusses two upcoming talks.

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Henrietta Darwin

Unpublished journal offers new take on Darwin’s daughter

12 Apr 2012

A small, lockable leather diary - kept in the vast archives of Cambridge University Library - has led to a reassessment of one of the key...

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Willetts Visit

Cambridge Science Festival starts with a bang!

12 Mar 2012

Cambridge Science Festival kicked off today with an explosive show by Dr Peter Wothers and a visit from Minister for Universities and Science, David...

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Beakers

Strengthening the bond between policy and science

09 Mar 2012

Policy makers and scientists collaborate to create new science-policy research agenda.

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Children get hands-on!

Gurgling guts, electricity, snot, pus and blood!

07 Mar 2012

The Cambridge Science Festival Schools Roadshow programme kicked off last week with a Schools Hub at Sawston Village College on Thursday 1 March...

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Skate head

Under the Microscope #9 – Skate head

16 Feb 2012

Dr Andrew Gillis shows us an embryonic skate head and explains how the red denticles dotted all over it have very similar properties to human teeth...

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