Topic description and stories

Cambridge researchers have played a vital role in the fight back against COVID-19, from the use of genomics to track its spread and mathematic modelling to understand infection rates through to innovative screening programmes to keep its students and staff safe.

Intensive care unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital

Underactive immune response may explain obesity link to COVID-19 severity

20 March 2023

Individuals who are obese may be more susceptible to severe COVID-19 because of a poorer inflammatory immune response, say Cambridge scientists.

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Coronavirus

Discovery of shape of the SARS-CoV-2 genome after infection could inform new COVID-19 treatments

05 Nov 2020

Scientists at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with Justus-Liebig University, Germany, have uncovered how the genome of SARS-CoV-2 - the...

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Focus on COVID-19 deaths in under-65s for better insights into infection rates across populations, say researchers

02 Nov 2020

Simply comparing the total number of deaths across countries may provide a misleading representation of the underlying level of transmission of SARS-...

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Woman in face mask walking down the street during a coronavirus lockdown

Study measures effectiveness of different face mask materials when coughing

29 Oct 2020

A team of researchers has tested everything from t-shirts and socks to jeans and vacuum bags to determine what type of mask material is most...

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Brain inflammation

Age and pre-existing conditions increase risk of stroke among COVID-19 patients

28 Oct 2020

Fourteen out of every 1,000 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital experience a stroke, a rate that is even higher in older patients and those with...

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Iowa County Drought

Globalised economy making water, energy and land insecurity worse: study

26 Oct 2020

The first large-scale study of the risks that countries face from dependence on water, energy and land resources has found that globalisation may be...

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Man standing in a subway

One in six children has a probable mental disorder, according to new report

23 Oct 2020

The proportion of children experiencing a probable mental disorder has increased over the past three years, from one in nine in 2017 to one in six in...

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‘Mini-lungs’ reveal early stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection

23 Oct 2020

‘Mini-lungs’ grown from tissue donated to Cambridge hospitals have provided a team of scientists from South Korea and the UK with important insights...

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Vaccine trials won’t tell us if they save lives or stop transmission – here’s why

22 Oct 2020

Clinical research fellow Dr Sarah Caddy discusses the limitations of the current trials that can be expected to continue for years to come.

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Why lockdown had little to no effect on global temperatures

22 Oct 2020

A chemist and an atmospheric scientist discuss their research showing a near shutdown of society didn’t cause emissions to fall much at all.

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Tackling COVID-19: Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore

22 Oct 2020

Her plans to study the effects of social isolation on adolescents have become particularly pertinent this year. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is a cognitive...

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Unexpected experiences: Stephen J Toope concludes the series with a sense of optimism for the future

22 Oct 2020

"It fills me with enormous gratitude that – at the moment of greatest challenge – our collegiate community rallied and rose to the occasion."

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“We’re in it for the long haul”

21 Oct 2020

In late 2019, a new institute opened on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Its timing could not have been better - as the COVID-19 pandemic sent...

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