Topic description and stories

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

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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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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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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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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Reducing the rise of antibiotic resistance

22 Nov 2021

Rising resistance to antibiotics is a worrying prospect, but a success story happening across the farms of the UK gives hope that something can be...

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The microbiologist tackling humanity’s next biggest killer

17 Nov 2021

Since childhood Stephen Baker says he had a grim fascination with poo. He caught the bug for microbiology and spent 12 years in Vietnam researching...

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Coronavirus

Air filter significantly reduces presence of airborne SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 wards

16 Nov 2021

When a team of doctors, scientists and engineers at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the University of Cambridge placed an air filtration machine in COVID-...

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Health care workers administering covid-19 vaccination in New Delhi

Delhi outbreak highlights challenge of herd immunity in the face of Delta variant

14 Oct 2021

The severe outbreak of COVID-19 in Delhi, India, in 2021 showed not only that the Delta variant of SARS-CoV2 is extremely transmissible but that it...

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Red ribbon

Fewer than one in 20 people living with HIV in England expected to be unaware of status by 2025

24 Sep 2021

England is on track to have diagnosed 95% of people living with HIV by 2025, putting it in a strong position to eliminate HIV transmission by 2030...

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A protester holds a sign comparing President Trump to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

Rates of infectious disease linked to authoritarian attitudes and governance

21 Sep 2021

Researchers argue that a desire for “conformity and obedience” as a result of COVID-19 could boost authoritarianism in the wake of the pandemic.

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visualisation of the Covid-19 virus

Spread of Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant driven by combination of immune escape and increased infectivity

06 Sep 2021

Findings suggest infection control measures against variants will need to continue in the post-vaccination era.

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Patient receives Covid-19 vaccine

Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant were more likely to be admitted to hospital compared to patients with Alpha variant

31 Aug 2021

Largest study to date analysing more than 40,000 COVID-19 cases finds a two-fold increased risk of hospitalisation from delta versus alpha variant...

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