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Faculty of Biology

 

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.

Chronic diseases misdiagnosed as psychosomatic can lead to long term damage

Mon, 03/03/2025 - 00:01

A ‘chasm of misunderstanding and miscommunication’ is often experienced between clinicians and patients, leading to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and vasculitis being wrongly diagnosed as psychiatric or psychosomatic conditions, with a profound and lasting impact on patients, researchers have found.

The coral whisperer

Tue, 25/02/2025 - 09:41

Duygu Sevilgen has built a coral lab in the basement of an old Zoology building. Here, 10 experimental tanks host multicoloured miniature forests, with each tank representing a different marine environment. Duygu uses extremely small sensors to record the fine details of coral skeletons and...

UK peatland fires are supercharging carbon emissions as climate change causes hotter, drier summers

Fri, 21/02/2025 - 07:00

A new study led by the University of Cambridge has revealed that as our springs and summers get hotter and drier, the UK wildfire season is being stretched and intensified.

Restoring wildlife habitats in wealthy nations could drive extinctions in species-rich regions, experts warn

Thu, 13/02/2025 - 16:28

Researchers call on the international community to recognise and start tackling the “biodiversity leak”. 

Prioritise vaccine boosters for vulnerable immunocompromised patients, say scientists

Wed, 12/02/2025 - 19:00

Vaccinations alone may not be enough to protect people with compromised immune systems from infection, even if the vaccine has generated the production of antibodies, new research from the University of Cambridge has shown.

Map of brain’s appetite centre could enable new treatments for obesity and diabetes

Wed, 05/02/2025 - 16:00

Scientists have created the most detailed map to date of the human hypothalamus, a crucial brain region that regulates body weight, appetite, sleep, and stress.

The medic making a difference to the care of trans patients

Mon, 03/02/2025 - 08:00

Medical students are taught about some of the rarest diseases, yet do not learn something as important as how to care for trans patients. This needs to change, says intensive care specialist Luke Flower.

Young adults generally more active after starting work, but sleep less – unless working from home

Tue, 28/01/2025 - 00:01

When young adults start working, the amount of daily physical activity they do increases sharply, only to fall away again over the new few years, while the amount of sleep they get falls slightly, according to new research led by scientists at the University of Cambridge.

Botanic Gardens must team up to save wild plants from extinction

Mon, 27/01/2025 - 00:01

The world’s botanic gardens must pull together to protect global plant biodiversity in the face of the extinction crisis, amid restrictions on wild-collecting, say researchers.

Cambridge researchers developing brain implants for treating Parkinson’s disease

Thu, 23/01/2025 - 10:33

Cambridge researchers are developing implants that could help repair the brain pathways damaged by Parkinson’s disease.