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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Forest landscape in Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China

Climate change may have driven the emergence of SARS-CoV-2

05 Feb 2021

Global greenhouse gas emissions over the last century have made southern China a hotspot for bat-borne coronaviruses, by driving growth of forest...

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Beyond the pandemic: prepare and plan a biosecure future

03 Feb 2021

COVID-19 has exposed a lack of preparedness for biological hazards – both in the UK and globally. Luke Kemp from the Centre for the Study of...

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Safety screens

03 Feb 2021

Since the start of October, a dedicated team drawn from across the University and its Colleges has been running an innovate programme to screen its...

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Syringe and vaccine

Pfizer BioNTech vaccine likely to be effective against B1.1.7 strain of SARS-CoV-2

02 Feb 2021

The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine BNT162b2 is likely to be effective against the B1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2, even though its efficacy is modestly...

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A single ‘escape mutant’ shouldn’t render a vaccine useless

28 Jan 2021

Dr Sarah Caddy writes for The Conversation about how the latest mutations are likely to affect vaccine efficacy.

Student in Cambridge University Library

Thought experiment on post-COVID Cambridge suggests that for universities, blending is a new beginning

28 Jan 2021

A research project which asked University of Cambridge staff and students to describe their biggest hopes – and darkest fears – for post-pandemic...

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Beyond the pandemic: re-learn how to govern risk

25 Jan 2021

As the pandemic crisis has played out across the world, different governments have taken different approaches to controlling the spread of virus and...

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When Symptoms Don't Stop

22 Jan 2021

Treating those most severely affected by COVID-19 has necessarily taken priority during the pandemic. But could long COVID be the next wave of the...

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People sitting inside a restaurant wearing face masks

Free online tool calculates risk of COVID-19 transmission in poorly-ventilated spaces

20 Jan 2021

The vital role of ventilation in the spread of COVID-19 has been quantified by researchers, who have found that in poorly-ventilated spaces, the...

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Likelihood of severe and ‘long’ COVID may be established very early on following infection

18 Jan 2021

New research provides important insights into the role played by the immune system in preventing – and in some cases increasing the severity of –...

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Doctor checks on patient connected to a ventilator

DNA test can quickly identify pneumonia in patients with severe COVID-19, aiding faster treatment

15 Jan 2021

Researchers have developed a DNA test to quickly identify secondary infections in COVID-19 patients, who have double the risk of developing pneumonia...

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Asymptomatic screening and genome sequencing help Cambridge understand spread of SARS-CoV-2 among its students

11 Jan 2021

Since the start of the academic year in October 2020, the University of Cambridge has been offering regular SARS-CoV-2 tests to all students living...

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