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Faculty of Biology

 

It takes parents a year to ‘tune in’ to their child’s feelings about starting school

4 hours 12 min ago

Findings from a major Cambridge-led study inspired psychologists to co-produce a picture book that helps parents develop a deeper understanding of how their child is coping with the first year of school.

Adolescents who sleep longer perform better at cognitive tasks

Tue, 22/04/2025 - 16:00

Adolescents who sleep for longer – and from an earlier bedtime – than their peers tend to have improved brain function and perform better at cognitive tests, researchers from the UK and China have shown.

Throwing a ‘spanner in the works’ of our cells’ machinery could help fight cancer, fatty liver disease… and hair loss

Fri, 18/04/2025 - 19:00

Fifty years since its discovery, scientists have finally worked out how a molecular machine found in mitochondria, the ‘powerhouses’ of our cells, allows us to make the fuel we need from sugars, a process vital to all life on Earth.

Mouse study suggests a common diabetes drug may prevent leukaemia

Thu, 17/04/2025 - 08:59

Metformin, a widely used and affordable diabetes drug, could prevent a form of acute myeloid leukaemia in people at high risk of the disease, a study in mice has suggested. Further research in clinical trials will be needed to confirm this works for patients.

Growing wildflowers on disused urban land can damage bee health

Wed, 16/04/2025 - 00:01

Wildflowers growing on land previously used for buildings and factories can accumulate lead, arsenic and other metal contaminants from the soil, which are consumed by pollinators as they feed, a new study has found.

Scientists create 'metal detector' to hunt down tumours

Thu, 10/04/2025 - 10:00

Cambridge researchers have created a ‘metal detector’ algorithm that can hunt down vulnerable tumours, in a development that could one day revolutionise the treatment of cancer.

One in 3,000 people at risk of punctured lung from faulty gene – almost 100 times higher than previous estimate

Tue, 08/04/2025 - 00:01

As many as one in 3,000 people could be carrying a faulty gene that significantly increases their risk of a punctured lung, according to new estimates from Cambridge researchers. Previous estimates had put this risk closer to one in 200,000 people.

Opinion: AI can transform health and medicine

Mon, 07/04/2025 - 09:00

AI has the potential to transform health and medicine. It won't be straightforward, but if we get it right, the benefits could be enormous. Andres Floto, Mihaela van der Schaar and Eoin McKinney explain.

Psychedelic medicine could revolutionise how we treat mental illness

Wed, 02/04/2025 - 09:26

Dr. Ayla Selamoglu is an expert on psychedelic medicine. Her work shows how nature’s most mysterious compounds provide new ways to combat mental illness.

AI is as good as pathologists at diagnosing coeliac disease, study finds

Thu, 27/03/2025 - 13:00

A machine learning algorithm developed by Cambridge scientists was able to correctly identify in 97 cases out of 100 whether or not an individual had coeliac disease based on their biopsy, new research has shown.

Powerful new MRI scans enable life-changing surgery in first for adults with epilepsy

Fri, 21/03/2025 - 00:01

Scientists have developed a new technique that has enabled ultra-powerful MRI scanners to identify tiny differences in patients’ brains that cause treatment-resistant epilepsy. It has allowed doctors at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, to offer the patients surgery to cure their condition.

Dementia patients and their carers to be asked about direction of drug research

Wed, 19/03/2025 - 07:00

Cambridge researchers are seeking the views of people with lived experience of dementia – patients and their friends and families – on which existing drugs should be repurposed for clinical trials to see whether they can slow or halt the progress of dementia.

Conservation efforts are bringing species back from the brink, even as overall biodiversity falls

Tue, 18/03/2025 - 18:30

A major review of over 67,000 animal species has found that while the natural world continues to face a biodiversity crisis, targeted conservation efforts are helping bring many species back from the brink of extinction.

Genetic study reveals hidden chapter in human evolution

Tue, 18/03/2025 - 10:00

Modern humans descended from not one, but at least two ancestral populations that drifted apart and later reconnected, long before modern humans spread across the globe.

Cambridge and London hospitals to pioneer brain implants to combat alcohol and opioid addiction

Mon, 17/03/2025 - 08:00

People suffering from severe alcohol and opioid addiction are to be offered a revolutionary new technique involving planting electrodes in the brain to modulate brain activity and cravings and improve self-control.

Routine asthma test more reliable in the morning and has seasonal effects

Wed, 12/03/2025 - 00:01

A lung function test used to help diagnose asthma works better in the morning, becoming less reliable throughout the day, Cambridge researchers have found.

When inflammation goes too far

Tue, 11/03/2025 - 10:05

Clare Bryant, Professor of Innate Immunity, is a molecular detective. Clare allows us to see how inflammation functions across species, and when our defence systems go too far.

Scientists identify genes that make humans and Labradors more likely to become obese

Thu, 06/03/2025 - 19:03

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have discovered genes linked to obesity in both Labradors and humans. They say the effects can be over-ridden with a strict diet and exercise regime.

Pledge to phase out toxic lead ammunition in UK hunting by 2025 has failed

Thu, 06/03/2025 - 09:14

A voluntary pledge made by UK shooting organisations in 2020 to replace lead shot with non-toxic alternatives by 2025 has failed, analysis by Cambridge researchers finds.

Scientists discover how aspirin could prevent some cancers from spreading

Wed, 05/03/2025 - 16:00

Scientists have uncovered the mechanism behind how aspirin could reduce the metastasis of some cancers by stimulating the immune system.