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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Professor Jonathan Heeney

Cambridge vaccine expert in $42million partnership to develop 'future-proofed' coronavirus vaccines

08 Mar 2022

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that DIOSynVax, a biotech spinout of the University of Cambridge, will receive $42 million (about £32 million...

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Airplane wing

Genomic study shows that England’s travel quarantine measures were effective – up to a limit

23 Feb 2022

Fourteen-day quarantine measures imposed on incoming travellers returning to England in summer 2020 helped prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus...

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Smiling boy with a football

One in three young people say they felt happier during lockdown

22 Feb 2022

One in three young people say their mental health and wellbeing improved during COVID-19 lockdown measures, with potential contributing factors...

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Teachers leading global drive to improve girls’ education became frontline workers during COVID-19 closures

04 Feb 2022

Interviews with teachers at the forefront of international efforts to improve girls’ education reveal that many have taken on humanitarian roles, as...

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Woman Puts on KN95 Face Mask

Testing the effectiveness of KN95 and surgical mask ‘fit hacks’

02 Feb 2022

Researchers have tested a variety of popular hacks for improving the fit of KN95 and surgical masks, and found that while some hacks do improve fit...

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Support for populist politics 'collapsed' during the pandemic – global report

18 Jan 2022

Support for populist parties and leaders – and agreement with populist ideas – has fallen around the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a...

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CO2 monitor

Curbing COVID-19 in schools: Cambridge scientists support CO2 monitor rollout

17 Jan 2022

UK schools have received more than 300,000 CO2 monitors as part of a government initiative to reduce COVID-19 spread in classrooms.

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Covid-19 seen under the microscope. SARS-CoV-2, 3D rendering

Omicron may be significantly better at evading vaccine-induced immunity, but less likely to cause severe disease

20 Dec 2021

The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 may be significantly better than previous variants at evading vaccine-induced antibodies, according to new research...

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SArs-cov-2

New model improves accuracy of machine learning in COVID-19 diagnosis while preserving privacy

16 Dec 2021

Researchers in the UK and China have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can diagnose COVID-19 as well as a panel of professional...

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Cambridge COVID vaccine in clinical trials

14 Dec 2021

Safety trials are underway for a vaccine developed by Cambridge researchers that could be used as a booster targeting COVID-19 virus variants and...

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Screenshot from Covid-19 risk calculator

Interactive tool helps you decide how to protect yourself and others from COVID-19

02 Dec 2021

Is it risky to sing in a choir? What are the risks of eating in a small restaurant? How much difference does it make to open windows or clean...

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Visualisation of droplets from a cough

Two-metre COVID-19 rule is ‘arbitrary measurement’ of safety

23 Nov 2021

A new study has shown that the airborne transmission of COVID-19 is highly random and suggests that the two-metre rule was a number chosen from a...

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