Twelve University of Cambridge researchers have won advanced grants from the European Research Council (ERC), Europe’s premier research funding body. Their work is set to provide new insights into many subjects, such as how to deal with vast scales of data in a statistically robust way, the development of energy-efficient materials for a zero-carbon world, and the development of new treatments for degenerative disease and cancer. Cambridge has the most grant winners of any UK institution, and the second-most winners overall.

Professor Ruth Cameron from Cambridge’s Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy is one of twelve winners of this year’s Suffrage Science awards. She and the other winners will be honoured at an online celebration today, the tenth anniversary of the scheme. This will be the fifth Suffrage Science awards for engineering and physical sciences.

A team of UK scientists have identified the mechanism behind hardening of the arteries, and shown in animal studies that a generic medication normally used to treat acne could be an effective treatment for the condition.

Molecular ‘fingerprint’ for tissue taken from first isotope-enriched mouse has huge potential for scientific breakthroughs, as well as improved medical implants. Earliest research based on data has already revealed that a molecule thought to exist for repairing DNA may also in fact trigger bone formation.

New findings show that much of the mineral from which bone is made consists of ‘goo’ trapped between tiny crystals, lubricating and allowing movement. It is this flexibility that stops bones from shattering.