News

Technique to regenerate the optic nerve offers hope for future glaucoma treatment

10 November 2020

Scientists have used gene therapy to regenerate damaged nerve fibres in the eye, in a discovery that could aid the development of new treatments for glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. It’s possible our treatment could be further developed as a way of protecting retinal neurons from death, as well...

Why it takes guts to protect the brain against infection

10 November 2020

The brain is uniquely protected against invading bacteria and viruses, but its defence mechanism has long remained a mystery. Now, a study in mice, confirmed in human samples, has shown that the brain has a surprising ally in its protection: the gut. The exact way in which the brain protects itself from infection, beyond...

Professor Chris Abell FRS, FMedSci (1957 – 2020)

29 October 2020

The University is saddened to announce that Professor Chris Abell, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Professor of Biological Chemistry and Todd-Hamied Fellow of Christ’s College, has died suddenly at the age of 62. A biological chemist, he was a pioneer in the field of fragment-based drug discovery, a successful...

Machine learning comes of age in cystic fibrosis

28 October 2020

World-leading AI technology developed by the Cambridge Centre for AI in Medicine and their colleagues – some of which is being showcased this week at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference 2020 – offers a glimpse of the future of precision medicine, and unprecedented predictive power to clinicians caring for...

Cambridge to lead national consortium examining immune response to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

8 September 2020

The University of Cambridge and Royal Papworth Hospital have secured £1.5million of funding as part of the national effort by UK immunologists to understand immune responses to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The study is one of three new UK-wide studies receiving a share of £8.4 million from UK Research...

Combining PCR and antibody tests at point of care dramatically increases COVID-19 detection in hospitalised patients

8 September 2020

A Cambridge hospital has piloted the use of combined rapid point-of-care nucleic acid and antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection after researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that this approach was superior to virus detection alone for diagnosing COVID-19 disease. PCR and antibody tests both have limitations...

Antiretroviral therapy fails to treat one-third of HIV patients in Malawi hospital

8 September 2020

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) failure and drug resistance are extremely common in patients living with HIV who are admitted to hospital in Malawi, according to new research published in Lancet HIV . These important findings highlight the threat posed by drug resistant HIV and call for rapid tests for drug resistant virus...

Women who experience high blood pressure during pregnancy are more likely to develop heart disease

2 July 2020

Women who experience high blood pressure during pregnancy are more likely to develop heart disease and heart failure in later life, according to an international team of researchers. When we looked at all the available research, the answer was clear: women who develop high blood pressure during pregnancy – even when it...

Improved MRI scans could aid in development of arthritis treatments

18 June 2020

An algorithm that analyses MRI images and automatically detects small changes in knee joints over time could be used in the development of new treatments for arthritis. Thanks to the engineering expertise of our team, we now have a better way of looking at the joint James MacKay A team of engineers, radiologists and...

Repurposing existing drugs for COVID-19 a more rapid alternative to a vaccine, say researchers

12 May 2020

Repurposing existing medicines focused on known drug targets is likely to offer a more rapid hope of tackling COVID-19 than developing and manufacturing a vaccine, argue an international team of scientists in the British Journal of Pharmacology . "[Repurposed drugs] will have already been shown to be safe and so, if they...

Technique to regenerate the optic nerve offers hope for future glaucoma treatment

Why it takes guts to protect the brain against infection

Professor Chris Abell FRS, FMedSci (1957 – 2020)

Machine learning comes of age in cystic fibrosis

Cambridge to lead national consortium examining immune response to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus

Combining PCR and antibody tests at point of care dramatically increases COVID-19 detection in hospitalised patients

Antiretroviral therapy fails to treat one-third of HIV patients in Malawi hospital

Women who experience high blood pressure during pregnancy are more likely to develop heart disease

Improved MRI scans could aid in development of arthritis treatments

Repurposing existing drugs for COVID-19 a more rapid alternative to a vaccine, say researchers

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Research at Cambridge