Topic description and stories

Combating infectious diseases and the threat of antimicrobial resistance remains one of the greatest global challenges.

Monkeypox virus

Treatments for poxviruses – including those causing mpox and smallpox – may already exist in licensed drugs

09 Aug 2023

Scientists have discovered how poxviruses evade natural defences in living cells, and realised that drugs to stop them doing this are already...

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Know your HIV status sign in Simonga village, Zambia.

Genetic variant linked to lower levels of HIV virus in people of African ancestry

02 Aug 2023

An international team of researchers has found a genetic variant that may explain why some people of African ancestry have naturally lower viral...

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Close up of a person being injected with a vaccine

‘Ageing’ immune cell levels could predict how well we respond to vaccines

27 Jun 2023

Cambridge scientists have identified a signature in the blood that could help predict how well an individual will respond to vaccines. The discovery...

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Chicken

Could bird flu spark the next pandemic - and are we prepared if it does?

13 Jun 2023

Should we be worried about frequent news reports of flu being detected in birds and other animals?

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Pipetting sample into a tray

Cambridge start-up wins funding to develop new diagnostics

20 Mar 2023

Cambridge start-up SMi and its research partners have received two Innovate UK awards to progress their work on testing for infectious diseases and...

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COVID-19 variants

Roadmap sets out new global strategy for development of more effective coronavirus vaccines

21 Feb 2023

Plan will accelerate a new approach to coronavirus vaccines research and development, to protect against COVID-19 variants and future pandemic...

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Grandfather Helping Little Boy to Wash His Hands at Passover Seder with Family - stock photo

Rare genetic disease may protect Ashkenazi Jews against TB

06 Feb 2023

Scientists may have solved the question of why Ashkenazi Jews are significantly more susceptible to a rare genetic disorder known as Gaucher disease...

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Coronavirus

‘Cocktail’ vaccines could offer increased protection against future COVID-19 variants of concern

14 Dec 2022

COVID-19 vaccinations that combine two or more distinct variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus could offer protection against both current and future ‘...

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The off-patent drug that could protect us from future COVID-19 variants

05 Dec 2022

Cambridge scientists have identified a drug that can be repurposed to prevent COVID-19 in research involving a unique mix of ‘mini-organs’, donor...

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Hands of senior man with cannulae and band-aid being in intensive care

Blood thinning drug to treat recovery from severe COVID-19 is not effective

28 Nov 2022

A drug used to reduce the risk of blood clots does not help patients recovering from moderate and severe COVID-19, despite this approach being...

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A 3d animation of the COVID-19 Virus or Coronavirus being broken apart

‘Programmable molecular scissors’ could help fight COVID-19 infection

16 Nov 2022

Cambridge scientists have used synthetic biology to create artificial enzymes programmed to target the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 and destroy the...

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Monkeypox virus - 3D render

Cambridge researchers join new £2 million UK consortium to tackle monkeypox outbreak

20 Oct 2022

Cambridge is among 12 institutions across the UK that will be working together to tackle the monkeypox outbreak, developing better diagnostic tests...

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