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.

Intensive care unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital

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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Vaccination of an senior male

Prioritise vaccine boosters for vulnerable immunocompromised patients, say scientists

12 Feb 2025

Vaccinations alone may not be enough to protect people with compromised immune systems from infection, even if the vaccine has generated the...

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Syringe in bottle of vaccine.

System to auto-detect new variants will inform better response to future infectious disease outbreaks

01 Jan 2025

Researchers have come up with a new way to identify more infectious variants of viruses or bacteria that start spreading in humans – including those...

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3D projections of QSM maps on the rendered brainstem

Ultra-powered MRI scans show damage to brain’s ‘control centre’ is behind long-lasting Covid-19 symptoms

08 Oct 2024

Damage to the brainstem – the brain’s ‘control centre’ – is behind long-lasting physical and psychiatric effects of severe Covid-19 infection, a...

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Vial of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

Incidence of heart attacks and strokes was lower after COVID-19 vaccination

31 Jul 2024

The incidence of heart attacks and strokes was lower after COVID-19 vaccination than before or without vaccination, according to a new study...

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A man sitting on a couch holding his head in his hands

Low iron levels resulting from infection could be key trigger of long COVID

04 Mar 2024

Problems with iron levels in the blood and the body’s ability to regulate this important nutrient as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection could be a key...

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Woman sitting on sofa in the dark, placing a hand to her forehead.

Long COVID linked to persistently high levels of inflammatory protein: a potential biomarker and target for treatments

21 Feb 2024

SARS-CoV-2 triggers the production of the antiviral protein IFN- γ , which is associated with fatigue, muscle ache and depression. New research shows...

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People in church praying with covid-19 restrictions

Religious people coped better with Covid-19 pandemic, research suggests

30 Jan 2024

Two Cambridge-led studies suggest that the psychological distress caused by lockdowns (UK) and experience of infection (US) was reduced among those...

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Young girl watching herself being injected with COVID-19 vaccine at a medical clinic

Significant gaps in COVID-19 vaccine uptake may have led to over 7,000 hospitalisations and deaths

15 Jan 2024

Between a third and a half of the populations of the four UK nations had not had the recommended number of COVID vaccinations and boosters by summer...

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Illustration of mRNA strand

Researchers redesign future mRNA therapeutics to prevent potentially harmful immune responses

06 Dec 2023

Researchers have discovered that misreading of therapeutic mRNAs by the cell’s decoding machinery can cause an unintended immune response in the body...

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Scanning electron micrograph of MRSA

COVID-19 showed the importance of genomic surveillance – we need it to help fight antimicrobial resistance

14 Nov 2023

During the COVID-19 pandemic, genomic surveillance proved vital in helping understand the evolution and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Now, an...

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Coronavirus newspaper headline montage

“Get back to school” headlines eroded teacher wellbeing during the pandemic

06 Nov 2023

Intense public pressure on teachers to “get back to school” during the COVID-19 lockdowns deepened an already widespread sense that they were...

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Virus variants

Vulnerability to different COVID-19 mutations depends on previous infections and vaccination, study suggests

06 Oct 2023

A person’s immune response to variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, depends on their previous exposure – and differences in the...

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