Opinion: Patient zero: why it's such a toxic term
01 Apr 2020Dr Richard McKay traces the history of the 'patient zero' idea through epidemics such as HIV and typhoid, and the return of this trope with COVID-19.
Opinion: Coronavirus: five ways to be a better manager when working from home
25 Mar 2020Everyone is adjusting to life during the coronavirus pandemic. For many, working from home is the new normal and poses all sorts of new challenges...
How different countries are reacting to the COVID-19 risk and their governments’ responses
24 Mar 2020Researchers at the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication spent the weekend surveying people's attitudes towards the risk of coronavirus...
Uncertainty about facts can be reported without damaging public trust in news – study
23 Mar 2020A series of experiments – including one on the BBC News website – finds the use of numerical ranges in news reports helps us grasp the uncertainty of...
New data tests 'theory of everything'
19 Mar 2020One of the biggest ideas in physics is the possibility that all known forces, particles, and interactions can be connected in one framework. String...
'Lab in your phone' lets you play the scientific life
25 Feb 2020A unique, free new game – “part Sims, part Tamagotchi” – lets players inhabit a stem cell researcher as they rise through the ranks: growing cells...
Global dissatisfaction with democracy at a record high
29 Jan 2020A new report, the first from the University's new Centre for the Future of Democracy, finds that 2019 had the "the highest level of democratic...
Cambridge-designed curriculum teaches schoolchildren about water scarcity and climate activism
17 Jan 2020Students and teachers across India now have free access to a new curriculum on water security and sustainability, co-developed by researchers at the...
Police platform patrols create ‘phantom effect’ that cuts crime in Tube stations
16 Jan 2020A major experiment introducing proactive policing to Underground platforms finds that short bursts of patrolling create a 'phantom effect': 97% of...
Online hate speech could be contained like a computer virus, say researchers
17 Dec 2019Artificial intelligence is being developed that will allow advisory 'quarantining' of hate speech in a manner akin to malware filters – offering...
Out at Cambridge
29 Oct 2019New report on LGBTQ+ experiences at the University is now published. While many feel Cambridge offers a “safe and empowering” community, the report...
An extra vegetarian option cuts meat consumption without denting food sales
01 Oct 2019First major study on “nudging” people towards sustainable diets shows replacing a meat or fish dish with another veggie option in college cafeterias...