Scientists have identified a gene which, when missing or impaired, can cause obesity, behavioural problems and, in mothers, postnatal depression. The discovery, reported today in Cell, may have wider implications for the treatment of postnatal depression, with a study in mice suggesting that oxytocin may alleviate symptoms.
Whole genome sequencing has improved clinical care of some children with cancer in England by informing individual patient care. Research published today supports the efforts to provide genome sequencing to all children with cancer and shows how it can improve the management of care in real-time, providing more benefits than all current tests combined.
Nyobolt, a University of Cambridge spin-out company, has demonstrated its ultra-fast charging batteries in an electric sportscar prototype, going from 10% to 80% charge in under five minutes, twice the speed of the fastest-charging vehicles currently on the road.
Genes can indirectly influence the age at which girls have their first period by accelerating weight gain in childhood, a known risk factor for early puberty, a Cambridge-led study has found. Other genes can directly affect age of puberty, some with profound effects.
A new legal requirement for developers to demonstrate a biodiversity boost in planning applications could make a more meaningful impact on nature recovery if improvements are made to the way nature’s value is calculated, say researchers at the University of Cambridge.
Slush – water-soaked snow – makes up more than half of all meltwater on the Antarctic ice shelves during the height of summer, yet is poorly accounted for in regional climate models.
Izzy Winter and Jessica (Jess) Reeve are about to embark on the next phase of their lives – entering the world of work. Izzy has just completed her Modern Languages degree (French and Italian) and Jess is finishing her Master’s in Economics. They’re excited about graduating from Cambridge but also sad they won’t be celebrating with their dear friend Clarissa Nicholls.
With Labour’s manifesto proposing to lower the UK voting age from eighteen to sixteen, Professor of Politics David Runciman challenges some of the assumptions about how teenagers would vote.
Heath goannas - a species of giant, scavenging lizard - act as natural clean-up crews by clearing maggot-ridden animal carcasses from the landscape.
The UKRI Medical Research Council (MRC) in the UK will today present the MRC Millennium Medal 2023 to Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, in recognition of his pioneering MRC-funded research into the prenatal sex steroid theory of autism, his establishment of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, and his work in the public understanding of neurodiversity.
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