News

Oldest strains of plague caused deadly outbreaks 5,500 years ago Jacqueline GargetWed, 06/17/2026 - 16:00 Plague is commonly associated with rats, crowded medieval cities, and the epidemics that swept across Europe during and after the Middle Ages. But a new study published today in the journal Nature shows that the disease was already le

Pilkington Prize award winners honoured Paul SeagroveWed, 06/17/2026 - 12:28 The prizes, which have been awarded annually since 1994, recognise individuals who make a significant contribution to teaching at the University of Cambridge. The awards were presented by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deborah Prentice, who praised the winners f

Cambridge adds global investors to strengthen its Innovation Hub Global Advisory Board Abby MunsonMon, 06/15/2026 - 14:18 The Innovation Hub aims to transform the UK’s ability to scale world leading deep tech and life science companies. The new board members, Megan Quinn, Jason Pontin, Riyad Daud and Gilman Louie bring a broad range of ex

Social media ban for under-16s in the UK: Cambridge expert reaction Fred LewseyMon, 06/15/2026 - 12:33 The UK government has announced that social media platforms will be blocked from offering services to British children under the age of 16, in a move it says will improve online safety and “give kids their childhood back”, according to

Cambridge student's coding skills help him reach Pokémon World Championships Stephen BevanMon, 06/15/2026 - 09:52 Marcus Koh will compete in the international event’s Video Game Championships in August, as the global phenomenon this year celebrates its 30th anniversary.And the 22-year-old – who came second in the Birmingham Pokémon Region

King's Birthday Honours 2026 Paul SeagroveFri, 06/12/2026 - 22:40 Emeritus Professor Carol Brayne is made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to medicine, medical research and public health. Carol held the professorship in public health medicine from 2001 to 2024 and is Senior V

National University of Singapore wins first Global Climate Research Prize Paul CasciatoThu, 06/11/2026 - 12:44 University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice presented the winning Prize, and also a medal to the runner-up from the University of Toronto (UofT), at a ceremony held on 10 June in the historic Debating Chamber of the

DSIT Minister attends launch of Cambridge Zenith AI Supercomputer Abby MunsonWed, 06/10/2026 - 13:55 The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Professor Deborah Prentice, today welcomed the Minister for Digital Government at the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, (DSIT), James Frith MP, and Dr Lisa Su, Chair and C

Two Cambridge researchers awarded the Kavli Prize Sarah CollinsWed, 06/10/2026 - 13:52 Honouring groundbreaking scientific discovery, the recipients of the Kavli Prizes 2026 in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience were announced today by The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. The laureates in each field will sha

New strategy to tackle bovine TB in England Jacqueline GargetWed, 06/10/2026 - 00:01 Developed with input from over 100 farmers, vets, scientists, industry and government representatives, as well as members of the public, the recommended strategy focuses on what will make the biggest difference on farms: reducing TB in cattle, reducing t

A lack of sex held back life’s diversity for millions of years Sarah CollinsTue, 06/09/2026 - 10:03 Researchers from the University of Cambridge studied fossils from the oldest-known animals on Earth, dating from 574 million years ago, and found that asexual reproduction slowed the pace of evolution to a crawl, since it limited competitio

Policy recommendations in climate-related research often ‘an afterthought’, major analysis finds Sarah CollinsTue, 06/09/2026 - 10:01 Researchers led by the University of Cambridge conducted a systematic review of over 3000 scientific papers focused on climate change mitigation, and found that recommendations of how to turn science into p

‘Super-connected' teenagers key to tackling violent crime, study suggests Fred LewseyTue, 06/09/2026 - 09:17 Young people with the most connections to other suspected offenders of any age are almost five times more likely to carry knives than the average youth suspect, according to a new analysis of more than 200,000 UK police records. Th

Cambridge Maths School rated ‘exceptional’ in every category of first-ever Ofsted inspection Stephen BevanFri, 06/05/2026 - 11:26 Cambridge Maths School – the specialist sixth form college developed in collaboration with the University of Cambridge – has been graded ‘exceptional’ following its first Ofsted inspection. The School was opene

New ‘universal vaccine’ technology could protect us from future virus outbreaks Jacqueline GargetFri, 06/05/2026 - 00:00 The first human clinical trial of a universal Sarbeco coronavirus vaccine, developed by the University of Cambridge and spin-out DIOSynVax (DVX) Ltd, has shown that the vaccine is safe and has no significant side-effect

New initiative launched for Cambridge-based start-ups in London Sarah FellThu, 06/04/2026 - 12:20 London is the first of these landing spots, having been recognised in Dealroom’s annual Global Tech Ecosystem report as Europe’s top-performing city in AI, fintech and life sciences, and fourth globally. Connecting Cambridge with the world’s

Mining for ‘clean energy’ metals driving widespread forest loss in Africa, study finds Jacqueline GargetWed, 06/03/2026 - 16:31 A study involving the University of Cambridge has found that 187,000 hectares of forest were lost to mining activity in Africa between 2001 and 2020 - an area roughly equivalent to the country of Mauritius.Using

Afghan Refugee Women’s cricket team to play in Cambridge on ground-breaking England tour Jessica KeatingWed, 06/03/2026 - 15:19 They will also play a second T20 match against the UK Armed Forces Women’s Team. Both fixtures are open to the public, with no charge.The tour comes at a time when the world is nearing five years since the fall o

Robot fish could help explain how our ancient ancestors first learned to walk Sarah CollinsTue, 06/02/2026 - 15:45 Using a combination of their ‘walking fish’ robot and computer models based on observations of real fish, the researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, found that a wide range of unrelated species have independently ev

US Ambassador visits Cambridge as University launches new centre for the study of America Jessica KeatingTue, 06/02/2026 - 11:42 Held at the Ray Dolby Centre, ‘The United States of America at 250: Reflections on the past, present, and future of independence’ brought together academics, journalists, artists and public figures to examine t