A new technique which uses light like a needle to thread long chains of particles could help bring sci-fi concepts such as cloaking devices one step closer to reality.

What links legendarily sharp Damascene swords of the past with flexible electronics and high-performance electrical wiring of the future? They all owe their remarkable properties to different structural forms of carbon.

A long-term collaboration between the University and industry has resulted in a super-strong form of steel, which is now being manufactured in the UK for use as stronger and cheaper armour for front-line military vehicles.

Miniature scaffolds made from collagen – the ‘glue’ that holds our bodies together – are being used to heal damaged joints, and could be used to develop new cancer therapies or help repair the heart after a heart attack.

A new battery technology provides double the energy storage at lower cost than the batteries that are used in handheld electronics, electric vehicles, aerospace and defence.

The Last Supper of Jesus Christ was on the Wednesday, and not the Thursday, before his death, according to a new study which claims to have solved “the thorniest problem in the New Testament”.

Cambridge students will be competing with some of the sharpest minds from colleges and universities across the UK this coming Sunday in the national heat of an international quiz competition organised by the Tata group of companies.

Work has begun at West Cambridge on the construction of a £41 million new home for the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy.

Materials science will be put in the spotlight tomorrow at the Babbage Lecture Theatre with the annual Armourers and Brasiers’ Cambridge Forum.

The most common cause of artificial joint failure is loosening of the prosthetic implant. Dr Athina Markaki is designing materials to anchor them securely.