Sixty-five Centres for Doctoral Training – which will train more than 4000 doctoral students across the UK – have been announced by Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan.

The 65 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) will support leading research in areas of national importance, including net zero, AI, defence and security, healthcare and quantum technologies. The £1 billion in funding – from government, universities and industry – represents the UK’s biggest-ever investment in engineering and physical sciences doctoral skills.

The University of Cambridge will lead two of the CDTs and is a partner in a further five CDTs. The funding will support roughly 150 Cambridge PhD students over the next five years.

The CDT in Future Infrastructure and Built Environment: Unlocking Net Zero (FIBE3 CDT), led by Professor Abir Al-Tabbaa from the Department of Engineering, will focus on meeting the needs of the infrastructure and construction sector in its pursuit of net zero by 2050 and is a collaboration between Cambridge, 30+ industry partners and eight international academic partners.

“The infrastructure sector is responsible for significant CO2 emissions, energy use and consumption of natural resources, and it’s key to unlocking net zero,” said Al-Tabbaa. “This CDT will develop the next generation of highly talented doctoral graduates who will be equipped to lead the design and implementation of the net zero infrastructure agenda in the UK.”

The FIBE3 CDT will provide more than 70 fully funded studentships over the next five years. The £8.1M funding from EPSRC is supported by £1.3M funding from the University and over £2.5M from industry as well as over £8.9M of in-kind contributions. Recruitment is underway for the first FIBE3 CDT cohort, to start in October.

The CDT in Sensor Technologies and Applications in an Uncertain World, led by Professor Clemens Kaminski from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, will cover the entire sensor research chain – from development to end of life – and will emphasise systems thinking, responsible research and innovation, co-creation, and cohort learning.

“Our CDT will provide students with comprehensive expertise and skills in sensor technology,” said Kaminski. “This programme will develop experts who are capable of driving impactful sensor solutions for industry and society, and can deal with uncertain data and the consequences of a rapidly changing world.”

The University is also a partner in:

• EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in 2D Materials of Tomorrow (2DMoT), led by: Professor Irina Grigorieva from the University of Manchester
• EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training Developing National Capability for Materials 4.0 and Henry Royce Institute, led by Professor William Parnell from the University of Manchester
• EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Superconductivity: Enabling Transformative Technologies, led by Professor Antony Carrington from the University of Bristol
• EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Aerosol Science: Harnessing Aerosol Science for Improved Security, Resilience and Global Health, led by Professor Jonathan Reid from the University of Bristol
• EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Photonic and Electronic Systems, led by Professor Alwyn Seeds from University College London

“As innovators across the world break new ground faster than ever, it is vital that government, business and academia invest in ambitious UK talent, giving them the tools to pioneer new discoveries that benefit all our lives while creating new jobs and growing the economy,” said Science and Technology Secretary, Michelle Donelan. “By targeting critical technologies including artificial intelligence and future telecoms, we are supporting world-class universities across the UK to build the skills base we need to unleash the potential of future tech and maintain our country’s reputation as a hub of cutting-edge research and development.”

“The Centres for Doctoral Training will help to prepare the next generation of researchers, specialists and industry experts across a wide range of sectors and industries,” said Professor Charlotte Deane, Executive Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation. “Spanning locations across the UK and a wide range of disciplines, the new centres are a vivid illustration of the UK’s depth of expertise and potential, which will help us to tackle large-scale, complex challenges and benefit society and the economy. The high calibre of both the new centres and applicants is a testament to the abundance of research excellence across the UK, and EPSRC’s role as part of UKRI is to invest in this excellence to advance knowledge and deliver a sustainable, resilient and prosperous nation.”

More than 4,000 doctoral students will be trained over the next nine years, building on EPSRC’s long-standing record of sustained support for doctoral training.

Total investment in the CDTs includes:

• £479 million by EPSRC, including £16 million of additional UKRI funding to support CDTs in quantum technologies
• Over £7 million from Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, also part of UKRI, to co-fund three CDTs
• £16 million by the MOD to support two CDTs
• £169 million by UK universities
• plus a further £420 million in financial and in-kind support from business partners 

This investment includes an additional £135 million for CDTs which will start in 2025. More than 1,400 companies, higher education institutions, charities and civic organisations are taking part in the centres for doctoral training. CDTs have a significant reputation for training future UK academics, industrialists and innovators who have gone on to develop the latest technologies.

source: cam.ac.uk

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For International Women’s Day, we meet two women from Murray Edwards, one of Cambridge’s two Colleges for women

This International Women’s Day, we speak to two proud Murray Edwards women. Affectionately known as ‘Medwards’, the Cambridge College was founded in 1954 by women who defined for themselves what a woman should be and set no limits on their potential.

Women had only been allowed to graduate from Cambridge for eight years, when 16 female students moved into a house on Silver Street and the newest women’s College, then known as New Hall, was born.

In the 70 years since, New Hall has grown and evolved, moving in 1964 to iconic new modernist buildings designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon – the architects who would go on to design the Barbican. In 2005, the College received a landmark £30m gift from alumna Dr Ros Smith and her then-husband Steve Edwards, securing its financial future. It was renamed Murray Edwards College, reflecting the generosity of the Edwards family and the vision of its founding president, Dame Rosemary Murray. The College is now home to up to 700 female undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Here we speak to Ann Cullen, one of those first pioneering women in Silver Street in 1954, and Katherine Perry, a current Medwards student, to hear their experiences and insights of living and studying in a space for women.

Matriculation photo of the first cohort of New Hall students in 1954. Ann Cullen is back row, centre, fifth from left.

Matriculation photo of the first cohort of New Hall students in 1954. Ann Cullen is back row, centre, fifth from left.

A blue plaque in Cambridge marking the original site of New Hall College on Silver Street

Ann Cullen (née Harding), Natural Sciences alumna (1954-1957) and one of the original 16 ‘Silver Street ladies’ from the College’s inaugural year

On applying to Cambridge…

The government had just brought in regulations that you had five years to take your O-Levels, well I’d done mine quicker and I had a spare year. My teachers said I might as well try for Oxbridge, so I sat the entrance exam and had to write an essay and I got in.

It was wonderful! I feel very fortunate that I happened to be going to University at that time and could slip through the regulations before they changed.

On the early days of New Hall…

It was a bit scandalous but we had a wonderful time, the first 16 of us.

We were absolutely flavour of the month and anyone who was anyone invited New Hall to their party because,16 girls, they thought ‘wonderful’. The garden at our house went down to the river, so people would punt up the river and then walk up our garden to come and call on us.

In our first year, for the Poppy Day Appeal, there was a large procession of lorries and fancy dress throughout the town to collect money – so we thought, we can do that! And we dressed up as St Trinian’s girls and took part.

There was also a society called ‘The Dampers’ for people who’d fallen in the Cam from a punt and they had their summer party at New Hall. All sorts of lovely things like that happened.

And because there was only 16 of us, we got to know each other really well. It was a really sociable place and especially that first year, people made us feel very special.

Varsity, the student newspaper, even wrote about us and sent a photographer to take all our photographs to feature in the paper. Then people would spot us in the street and tick our picture off saying, ‘Oh look there’s one’.

But of course reality set in when we realised that actually, we had to take exams, get degrees and life could be serious too.

On life after Cambridge and joining Oxfam…

I got married very soon after university, so I started a completely different life having children and looking after a husband, as you did back then. Husbands in those days didn’t do useful things or look after children. Everything’s changed now thank goodness.

So I started my career in my 40’s when I began working in a library before taking a secretarial course and joining Oxfam as an office administrator.

Then the Ethiopian famine in the 1980’s happened and we were suddenly launched into major fundraising mode. It was a unique experience to be running this charity appeal, with known faces like newsreader Michael Buerk and television coming to cover it.

Lots of people who were quite famous rolled up their sleeves to help raise money. It was the first time that [such a widespread public campaign] had happened and I think that’s what made it special. Live Aid came as a consequence of it.

We sent planes full of supplies and then boats full of supplies to help. Local people like bank clerks, were all coming after work to help. It was very moving.

On advice for young women now…

Get as many qualifications as you can, as young as you can!

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The first cohort of New Hall students in 1954. Ann Cullen is bottom row, centre.

The original location of New Hall, now Murray Edwards, on Silver Street. Credit: Cambridge Colleges

Katherine Perry in the grounds of Murray Edwards

Murray Edwards College

Katherine Perry, a first year History and Modern Languages student

On applying to Murray Edwards…

I went to an outreach day for History and Modern Languages at Medwards when I was in Year 12 – it was the first time I’d ever visited Cambridge and it immediately dispelled most of my preconceptions about the university.

The atmosphere was incredibly friendly and welcoming. I didn’t always plan to apply to a women’s college – mainly, I liked that Medwards is a bit further from the city centre, and has beautiful gardens. But I also quickly realised that being a women’s College was one of the aspects of Medwards that made it so supportive and friendly. This term, I am really looking forward to the in-college Fleabag watch party. If that’s not Medwards-core, I don’t know what is!

On living in a space created for women…

My favourite aspect of studying at a women’s college is our library. The Medwards library balances study spaces with communal activities and support, like the pink week crochet and knitting night, the nail painting station, and the weekly tea and biscuits. These things might seem trivial, but in a society where gendered power dynamics often feel inescapable, it is as important to be able to wind down in a space free from this. Also, the women’s fiction collection is excellent. I’m currently locked in a deadly library competition to read the most women’s prize for fiction winners. I have yet to experience a similar level of celebration of women’s achievements anywhere else.

My favourite aspect of living at Medwards is the Women’s Art Collection. Like the women’s fiction, there’s abundant inspiration for and celebration of women, without the gravitational pull of privilege that often causes women to be sidelined. There are (as far as I know), no portraits of old men staring down at me as if to tell me I am an imposter in some long male legacy.

 On why Colleges for women are still important in 2024…

Though I hope for a society where no women-only spaces are necessary, I do not think we have reached that point, which is why women’s colleges are still important.

Studies on gender dynamics in college classrooms show that men, on average, speak for 1.6 times longer than women. It’s not just the numbers, either, but the context. Men were more likely to interrupt and speak without raising hands. I do not mean to insult all men, but if you have the privilege to feel insulted by these statistics then you have probably never been the woman on the receiving end of this power imbalance. Women’s spaces provide freedom from this ‘gravitational pull’ of privilege that amplifies men’s voices, and the room to learn how to take up space.

Beyond the academic environment, I would like to highlight that being a women’s college means that the gym is also no-men – a facility that some may find very useful – and access to more specific health resources is clear and easy.

To anyone women unsure about applying…

To be totally honest, it is easy to forget that you are at a women’s college, because the absence of men is not some lingering silence that hangs over us. When I do remember, it is the supportive atmosphere amongst students that I notice. With that in mind, briefly discard the “women’s” label and remember that Medwards and Newnham have numerous other draws. For instance, they are both known for their beautiful gardens, unique architecture, and access to ovens. Medwards is the closest college to Aldi (a lifesaver) and Newnham is approximately one snooze alarm away from the Sidgwick Site.

Remember that most of your academics, like lectures, classes, and some supervisions, are done outside of college, so there is plenty of opportunity to collaborate with men. The College sports, music, and academic societies are also often mixed – Medwards has a particularly strong relationship with its fellow hill colleges.

Mythbusting…

“Women’s colleges are like convents.”
Men are welcome all the time as visitors, and as students who may have supervisions here. If the convent lifestyle was in fact an appealing factor, then I believe there is one up the road.

“Women’s colleges are like high schools, and full of drama.”
Are we really still into perpetuating stereotypes about ‘catty’ women? In fact, if we lean into the theory that girls mature faster than boys, does that not tell an opposite story? It is simply a myth, with much deeper roots than any singular college or university.

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Murray Edwards College

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New Hall, now Murray Edwards, was founded to welcome all outstanding young women of potential, no matter what their background, to the University of Cambridge – with a mission to provide the best education for female students possible.

More than 70 years later, this remains at the heart of the College’s existence. Murray Edwards chooses to remain a College for women in recognition of the fact that there is still much gender inequality facing women in the world today.

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Thus there is a need for institutions such as Murray Edwards, and Newnham College, another Cambridge College for women, which offer the additional focus on women’s education, to make sure students get the most from Cambridge and, later, to help them meet the challenges of the workplace.

Explore the Murray Edwards website to learn more about what they have to offer, including The Women’s Art Collection, a collection of modern and contemporary art by women. The largest of its kind in Europe, the Collection is free to visit and is on display across the College.

source: cam.ac.uk

By Sarah Collins
Published 7 March 2024

A forest of Calamophyton trees. Credit Peter Giesen/Chris Berry.

The oldest fossilised forest known on Earth – dating from 390 million years ago – has been found in the high sandstone cliffs along the Devon and Somerset coast of South West England.

The fossils, discovered and identified by researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Cardiff, are the oldest fossilised trees ever found in Britain, and the oldest known fossil forest on Earth. This fossil forest is roughly four million years older than the previous record holder, which was found in New York State.

The fossils were found near Minehead, on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, near what is now a Butlin’s holiday camp. The fossilised trees, known as Calamophyton, at first glance resemble palm trees, but they were a ‘prototype’ of the kinds of trees we are familiar with today. Rather than solid wood, their trunks were thin and hollow in the centre. They also lacked leaves, and their branches were covered in hundreds of twig-like structures.

These trees were also much shorter than their descendants: the largest were between two and four metres tall. As the trees grew, they shed their branches, dropping lots of vegetation litter, which supported invertebrates on the forest floor.

Scientists had previously assumed this stretch of the English coast did not contain significant plant fossils, but this particular fossil find, in addition to its age, also shows how early trees helped shape landscapes and stabilise riverbanks and coastlines hundreds of millions of years ago. The results are reported in the Journal of the Geological Society.

The forest dates to the Devonian Period, between 419 million and 358 million years ago, when life started its first big expansion onto land: by the end of the period, the first seed-bearing plants appeared and the earliest land animals, mostly arthropods, were well-established.

“The Devonian period fundamentally changed life on Earth,” said Professor Neil Davies from Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences, the study’s first author. “It also changed how water and land interacted with each other, since trees and other plants helped stabilise sediment through their root systems, but little is known about the very earliest forests.”

The fossil forest identified by the researchers was found in the Hangman Sandstone Formation, along the north Devon and west Somerset coasts. During the Devonian period, this region was not attached to the rest of England, but instead lay further south, connected to parts of Germany and Belgium, where similar Devonian fossils have been found.

“When I first saw pictures of the tree trunks I immediately knew what they were, based on 30 years of studying this type of tree worldwide” said co-author Dr Christopher Berry from Cardiff’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. “It was amazing to see them so near to home. But the most revealing insight comes from seeing, for the first time, these trees in the positions where they grew. It is our first opportunity to look directly at the ecology of this earliest type of forest, to interpret the environment in which Calamophyton trees were growing, and to evaluate their impact on the sedimentary system.”

The fieldwork was undertaken along the highest sea cliffs in England, some of which are only accessible by boat, and revealed that this sandstone formation is rich with plant fossil material from the Devonian period. The researchers identified fossilised plants and plant debris, fossilised tree logs, traces of roots and sedimentary structures, preserved within the sandstone. During the Devonian, the site was a semi-arid plain, crisscrossed by small river channels spilling out from mountains to the northwest.

“This was a pretty weird forest – not like any forest you would see today,” said Davies. “There wasn’t any undergrowth to speak of and grass hadn’t yet appeared, but there were lots of twigs dropped by these densely-packed trees, which had a big effect on the landscape.”

This period marked the first time that tightly-packed plants were able to grow on land, and the sheer abundance of debris shed by the Calamophyton trees built up within layers of sediment. The sediment affected the way that the rivers flowed across the landscape, the first time that the course of rivers could be affected in this way.

“The evidence contained in these fossils preserves a key stage in Earth’s development, when rivers started to operate in a fundamentally different way than they had before, becoming the great erosive force they are today,” said Davies. “People sometimes think that British rocks have been looked at enough, but this shows that revisiting them can yield important new discoveries.”

The research was supported in part by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Neil Davies is a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge.

Reference:
Neil S. Davies, William J. McMahon and Christopher M. Barry. ‘Earth’s earliest forest: fossilized trees and vegetation-induced sedimentary structures from the Middle Devonian (Eifelian) Hangman Sandstone Formation, Somerset and Devon, SW England.’ Journal of the Geological Society (2024). DOI: 10.1144/jgs2023-204

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Image credits (top to bottom):
_{Illustration of Calamophyton trees. Credit: Peter Giesen/Chris Berry
Cliffs of the Hangman Sandstone Formation, where many of the fossils were found. Credit: Neil Davies
3D reconstruction of fossilised Calamophyton trunks. Credit: Chris Berry}

_{Outcrop at Porlock Weir, Somerset. Credit: Neil Davies}

_{The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License}

By Zoe Smith

From pre-eclampsia and its lasting impact on women’s health to inequitable distribution of domestic and caring labour in different-sex couples to an in-conversation with the Vice Chancellor: the Cambridge Festival counts a host of prominent female speakers in its programme.

Pre-eclampsia affects approximately 6-8% of pregnancies and is thought to be a problem with the placenta that usually causes blood pressure to rise. 
 
If left untreated, pre-eclampsia can be very dangerous for both the Mother and her baby.  

In Pre-eclampsia and its lasting impact on women’s health: Not just a villain of pregnancy? (28 March, 6.30pm), explore the puzzling relationship between pregnancy, pre-eclampsia and women’s long-term cardiovascular health, and explain how the University of Cambridge-led POPPY study hopes to provide answers to some of these questions. 

Principal Investigator Dr Carmel McEniery says, “Our principal aim is to raise awareness about the increased long-term health risks faced by women who experience pre-eclampsia and other pregnancy syndromes.” 

“We need to ‘continue the conversation’ around pregnancy, pre-eclampsia and women’s long-term health and the Festival will be an ideal forum for this. We also wish to highlight the POPPY study, which will address fundamental questions around the links between pre-eclampsia and women’s long-term cardiovascular health.” 

Photo by Juan Encalada on Unsplash

Top female voices taking part in the festival include University of Cambridge’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Debbie Prentice, Dr Una McCormack, Verity Harding and Nicola Upson amongst others. 

In our Cambridge Conversations series, University of Cambridge’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Debbie Prentice will take part in a Q&A on her research in Psychology where she has specialised in the study of domestic violence, alcohol abuse and gender stereotypes. She will also discuss her time at Cambridge and her vison for the University of Cambridge (27 March, 6pm). 

An eminent psychologist, Professor Prentice carried out her academic and administrative career at Princeton University, which she first joined in 1988. She rose through the academic ranks and took on administrative responsibilities of increasing scope, chairing the Department of Psychology for 12 years, serving as Dean of Faculty for three years, and then serving six years as Provost. 

Her academic expertise is in the study of social norms that govern human behaviour – particularly the impact and development of unwritten rules and conventions, and how people respond to breaches of those rules. 

Bestselling science fiction writer, Dr Una McCormack, will be speaking with Professor Lord Martin Rees on the relationship between science and science fiction when it comes to our knowledge of the life, the universe and outer space. (25 March, 8pm) 

Dr McCormack is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling science fiction writer who has written more than twenty novels based on TV shows such as Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Firefly. Her academic interests include women’s science fiction, transformative works (‘fanfiction’), and JRR Tolkien 

Writer Emily Kenway and Thara Raj, Director of Population Health and Inequalities at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, will be on a panel discussion trying to answer the question: how can we fix the NHS and social care? (21 March, 6pm). 

Emily Kenway researches, writes and speaks about thought-provoking social issues. Drawing on a decade-long career working in social justice, from campaigning for living wages to tackling worker exploitation, she sheds light on the crucial forces shaping our lives and communities. 

Thara Raj is Director of Population Health and Inequalities at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WHHT). Prior to coming to the hospital Thara was Director of Public Health for Warrington Borough Council and oversaw the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Professor Clare Brooks is Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge. She will be speaking in a Question Time-style panel discussion on the teacher recruitment crisis on Who can fix the teacher recruitment and retention crisis? (20 March, 5.30pm). Professor Brooks is a leading authority on teacher education whose work emphasises its wider social context, impact and purpose. 

Dr Melisa Basol is a social psychologist and one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 Class of 2022 and is currently leading the misinformation work at Moonshot, a social impact business that works to end online harms, applying evidence, ethics and human rights. 

Dr Ella McPherson, Associate Professor of the Sociology of New Media and Digital Technology and Co-Director of the Centre of Governance and Human Rights (CGHR). At CGHR, she leads the research theme on human rights in the digital age. Both will be panel members on How will AI affect the democratic process? (20 March, 6pm) 

Emily Kenway

Professor Clare Brooks

Dr Melisa Basol

Dr Ella McPherson

Verity Harding

Dr Tina Van der Vlies

Samantha Day

Crime author Nicola Upson will be talking to Cambridge University Librarian Dr Jessica Gardner about curating the library’s latest exhibition, Murder by the Book, which opens on 23 March, and the importance of crime writing as a genre.  (28 March, 5.30pm) 

As part of the Cambridge Festival, Verity Harding, one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, will discuss her new book – AI Needs You: How We Can Change AI’s Future and Save Our Own – with Professor Dame Diane Coyle, from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Cambridge (14 March, 6pm) 

Verity will draw from her book some inspiring lessons from the histories of three 20th-century tech revolutions – the space race, in vitro fertilisation and the internet – to draw us into the conversation about AI and its possible futures. 

She argues that it is critical for society to take the lead in ensuring that AI fulfils its promise to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges. 

History is a contested school subject and a topic of polarised public debates. These discussions involve the attributed meaning to the narrated and remembered past, while shaping identities and world views. In Why school history matters: Public discourses on the value of history for society, 1924–2024, Dr Tina Van der Vlies discusses how and why ideas on the value and purpose of school history for society changed in this period. Dr Van der Vlies is Assistant Professor History, Heritage & Education at the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication. 

Comedian Samantha Day will present an evening of thought-provoking humour in the Booby Trap. Breasts loom large in our culture, but why are we so obsessed with them? The award-winning comedian gets her tit jokes out and exposes some big issues. (20 March, 7.30pm) 

The inequitable distribution of domestic and caring labour in different-sex couples has been a long-standing feminist concern. In Seeing the mess: Gender, housework and perception (21 March, 3pm) we question why do women continue to shoulder a disproportionate amount of housework and childcare despite economic and cultural gains? And why is there a widespread one-sided misrepresentation within different-sex couples about how domestic and caring work is distributed between the two partners? 

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

The Cambridge Festival is a unique festival of events brought to you by the University of Cambridge. With over 350 events from exhibitions, walks, talks, workshops, performances, hands-on activities, films and more!

Study highlights ‘double burden’ of unhealthy food environment in deprived areas

By Craig Brierley

^{Published 8 March 2024}

Cambridge researchers have used artificial intelligence to predict the healthiness of café, takeaway and restaurant menus at outlets across Britain and used this information to map which of its local authorities have the most and least healthy food environments.

The findings, published in Health & Place, highlight the double burden faced by people living in the most deprived areas, where there tend to be more food outlets per capita – more than double the number in the least deprived areas – and these outlets tend to be less healthy.

‘Out-of-home’ food – whether that’s food eaten in a pub, café or restaurant or takeaway food – is an increasing part of how many people eat. But this food tends to be higher in calories, saturated fat and salt and less nutritious than food prepared at home.

Studies have shown consistently that the more an individual eats food out of home – especially fast food – the poorer the quality of their diet and the higher their body weight. In the UK, there also tend to be more fast food outlets in more deprived neighbourhoods.

Not all menus are equal, however – some will be healthier than others – but little is known about whether there are differences between neighbourhoods in the healthiness of out-of-home food outlets.

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“Given the link between the food environment and diet, it’s important to understand how healthy this environment is at a local level. This will empower local authorities to take action to try and improve the consumer food environment.”

^{Yuru Huang, a Gates Cambridge Scholar at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge}

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To explore this, Huang and colleagues examined menus from almost 55,000 food outlets on Just Eat, an online food ordering and delivery platform. Each outlet’s menu was given a healthiness score of 0-12 (with 12 being the healthiest) based on a number of factors including: the number of special offers (such as meal deals or family meals), desserts, salads, chips, milk, water, and the diversity of vegetables.

As not every food outlet is on Just Eat, the team turned to an artificially-intelligent ‘deep learning’ model, trained on a subset of Just Eat data, to predict menu healthiness of every out-of-home food outlet in Britain – a total of almost 180,000 outlets. These outlets were classified into four categories:

• cafés, snack bars, and tea rooms
• fast food and takeaways
• pubs, bars, and inns
• restaurants

The only information available for all out-of-home food outlets were the outlets’ names and hygiene ratings. When the team tested their model, they found that the outlet’s name was the best at predicting the healthiness of its menu.

While the complexities of menu healthiness cannot be accurately captured by name only, the researchers validated their results against a different set of test data from Just Eat to that used in the model training, and against real menus from outlets in Cambridge and Peterborough to demonstrate that the model works.

Restaurants were found, on average, to have the healthiest menus, followed by: cafes, snack bars, and tea rooms; pubs, bars, and inns; and lastly fast food and takeaways.

The team used geographical data to map the food outlets, summarising the average menu healthiness of all out-of-home food outlets at the local authority level. Local authority districts with the highest menu healthiness scores included City of London, Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster. The local authority districts with the lowest menu healthiness scores were Northeast Lincolnshire, Luton, and Kingston upon Hull.

The researchers found that, in general, the higher the level of deprivation in an area, the lower the average menu healthiness across its out-of-home food outlets – and all four categories of food outlets tended to be less healthy in more deprived areas.

Not only that, but out-of-home food outlets also tended to cluster in more deprived areas. In the most deprived areas, there were 8.39 food outlets per 1,000-3,000 people, compared to just 3.85 in the least deprived areas.

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“There’s a clear pattern between the healthiness of menus at out-of-home food outlets in an area and its level of deprivation. This can create a ‘double burden’ for people living in deprived neighbourhoods, where there are more outlets and these tend to be less healthy, compared to less deprived neighbourhoods.”

^{Yuru Huang}

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“On top of this, there are studies that show, for example, that people with the lowest income were more likely to be obese when living in areas with a high proportion of fast-food outlets. This could even create a ‘triple burden’ for people living in these areas.”

The researchers acknowledge that the menu healthiness score does not capture the intricate nuances of the menu, such as portion size, cooking methods, and levels of food processing. This could be important, as interventions such as healthy catering awards introduced by local government focus on aspects like smaller portion sizes, reducing salt, and switching cooking oils.

This work was supported by the Medical Research Council and Gates Cambridge.

Reference

Huang, Y et al. Assessing the healthiness of menus of all out-of-home food outlets and its socioeconomic patterns in Great Britain. Health & Place; 5 Dec 2023 ; DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.103146

^Images

• ^{Woman serving a customer in a takeaway outlet (SolStock/Getty Image)}
• ^{Person eating sushi (Betsai Ekmeiro)}

_{The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License}

source: cam.ac.uk

A quarter of Labradors are hard-wired for obesity

New research finds around a quarter of Labrador retriever dogs face a double-whammy of feeling hungry all the time and burning fewer calories due to a genetic mutation.

Labradors with this genetic mutation are looking for food all the time, trying to increase their energy intake. It’s very difficult to keep these dogs slim, but it can be done.Eleanor Raffan

This obesity-driving combination means that dog owners must be particularly strict with feeding and exercising their Labradors to keep them slim.

The mutation is in a gene called POMC, which plays a critical role in hunger and energy use.

Around 25% of Labradors and 66% of flatcoated retriever dogs have the POMC mutation, which researchers previously showed causes increased interest in food and risk of obesity.

The new study reveals how the mutation profoundly changes the way Labradors and flatcoated retrievers behave around food. It found that although they don’t need to eat more to feel full, they are hungrier in between meals.

In addition, dogs with the POMC mutation were found to use around 25% less energy at rest than dogs without it, meaning they don’t need to consume as many calories to maintain a healthy body weight.

“We found that a mutation in the POMC gene seems to make dogs hungrier. Affected dogs tend to overeat because they get hungry between meals more quickly than dogs without the mutation,” said Dr Eleanor Raffan, a researcher in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience who led the study.

She added: “All owners of Labradors and flatcoated retrievers need to watch what they’re feeding these highly food-motivated dogs, to keep them a healthy weight. But dogs with this genetic mutation face a double whammy: they not only want to eat more, but also need fewer calories because they’re not burning them off as fast.”

The POMC mutation was found to alter a pathway in the dogs’ brains associated with body weight regulation. The mutation triggers a starvation signal that tells their body to increase food intake and conserve energy, despite this being unnecessary.

The results are published today in the journal Science Advances.

Raffan said: “People are often rude about the owners of fat dogs, blaming them for not properly managing their dogs’ diet and exercise. But we’ve shown that Labradors with this genetic mutation are looking for food all the time, trying to increase their energy intake. It’s very difficult to keep these dogs slim, but it can be done.”

The researchers say owners can keep their retrievers distracted from this constant hunger by spreading out each daily food ration, for example by using puzzle feeders or scattering the food around the garden so it takes longer to eat.

In the study, 87 adult pet Labrador dogs – all a healthy weight or moderately overweight – took part in several tests including the ‘sausage in a box’ test.

First, the dogs were given a can of dogfood every 20 minutes until they chose not to eat any more. All ate huge amounts of food, but the dogs with the POMC mutation didn’t eat more than those without it. This showed that they all feel full with a similar amount of food.

Next, on a different day, the dogs were fed a standard amount of breakfast. Exactly three hours later they were offered a sausage in a box and their behaviour was recorded. The box was made of clear plastic with a perforated lid, so the dogs could see and smell the sausage, but couldn’t eat it.

The researchers found that dogs with the POMC mutation tried significantly harder to get the sausage from the box than dogs without it, indicating greater hunger.

The dogs were then allowed to sleep in a special chamber that measured the gases they breathed out. This revealed that dogs with the POMC mutation burn around 25% fewer calories than dogs without it.

The POMC gene and the brain pathway it affects are similar in dogs and humans. The new findings are consistent with reports of extreme hunger in humans with POMC mutations, who tend to become obese at an early age and develop a host of clinical problems as a result.

Drugs currently in development for human obesity, underactive sexual desire and certain skin conditions target this brain pathway, so understanding it fully is important.

A mutation in the POMC gene in dogs prevents production of two chemical messengers in the dog brain, beta-melanocyte stimulating hormone (β-MSH) and beta-endorphin, but does not affect production of a third, alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH).

Further laboratory studies by the team suggest that β-MSH and beta-endorphin are important in determining hunger and moderating energy use, and their role is independent of the presence of α-MSH. This challenges the previous belief, based on research in rats, that early onset human obesity due to POMC mutations is caused only by a lack of α-MSH. Rats don’t produce beta-melanocyte stimulating hormone, but humans and dogs produce both α- and β-MSH.

The research was funded by The Dogs Trust and Wellcome.

Reference: Dittmann, M T et al: ‘Low resting metabolic rate and increased hunger due to β-MSH and β-endorphin deletion in a canine model.’ Science Advances, March 2024. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj3823

source: cam.ac.uk

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Problems with iron levels in the blood and the body’s ability to regulate this important nutrient as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection could be a key trigger for long COVID, new research has discovered.

Iron levels, and the way the body regulates iron, were disrupted early on during SARS-CoV-2 infection, and took a very long time to recover, particularly in those people who went on to report long COVID months laterAimee Hanson

The discovery not only points to possible ways to prevent or treat the condition, but could help explain why symptoms similar to those of long COVID are also commonly seen in a number of post-viral conditions and chronic inflammation.

Although estimates are highly variable, as many as three in 10 people infected with SARS-CoV-2 could go on to develop long COVID, with symptoms including fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle aches and problems with memory and concentration (‘brain fog’). An estimated 1.9 million people in the UK alone were experiencing self-reported long COVID as of March 2023, according to the Office of National Statistics.

Shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers at the University of Cambridge began recruiting people who had tested positive for the virus to the COVID-19 cohort of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) BioResource. These included asymptomatic healthcare staff identified via routine screening through to patients admitted to Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, some to its intensive care unit.

Over the course of a year, participants provided blood samples, allowing researchers to monitor changes in the blood post-infection. As it became clear that a significant number of patients would go on to have symptoms that persisted – long COVID – researchers were able to track back through these samples to see whether any changes in the blood correlated with their later condition.

In findings published in Nature Immunology, researchers at the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), University of Cambridge, together with colleagues at Oxford, analysed blood samples from 214 individuals. Approximately 45% of those questioned about their recovery reported symptoms of long COVID between three and ten months later.

Professor Ken Smith, who was Director of CITIID at the time of the study and will take up a position as Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne, Australia, in April, said: “Having recruited a group of people with SARS-CoV-2 early in the pandemic, analysis of several blood samples and clinical information collected over a 12 month period after infection has proved invaluable in giving us important and unexpected insights into why, for some unlucky individuals, initial SARS-CoV-2 infection is followed by months of persistent symptoms.”

The team discovered that ongoing inflammation – a natural part of the immune response to infection – and low iron levels in blood, contributing to anaemia and disrupting healthy red blood cell production, could be seen as early as two weeks post COVID-19 in those individuals reporting long COVID many months later.

Early iron dysregulation was detectable in the long COVID group independent of age, sex, or initial COVID-19 severity, suggesting a possible impact on recovery even in those who were at low risk for severe COVID-19, or who did not require hospitalisation or oxygen therapy when sick.

Dr Aimee Hanson, who worked on the study while at the University of Cambridge, and is now at the University of Bristol, said: “Iron levels, and the way the body regulates iron, were disrupted early on during SARS-CoV-2 infection, and took a very long time to recover, particularly in those people who went on to report long COVID months later.

“Although we saw evidence that the body was trying to rectify low iron availability and the resulting anaemia by producing more red blood cells, it was not doing a particularly good job of it in the face of ongoing inflammation.”

Interestingly, although iron dysregulation was more profound during and following severe COVID-19, those who went on to develop long COVID after a milder course of acute COVID-19 showed similar patterns in the blood. The most pronounced association with long COVID was how quickly inflammation, iron levels and regulation returned to normal following SARS-CoV-2 infection – though symptoms tended to continue long after iron levels had recovered.

Co-author Professor Hal Drakesmith, from the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oxford, said iron dysregulation is a common consequence of inflammation and is a natural response to infection.

“When the body has an infection, it responds by removing iron from the bloodstream. This protects us from potentially lethal bacteria that capture the iron in the bloodstream and grow rapidly. It’s an evolutionary response that redistributes iron in the body, and the blood plasma becomes an iron desert.

“However, if this goes on for a long time, there is less iron for red blood cells, so oxygen is transported less efficiently affecting metabolism and energy production, and for white blood cells, which need iron to work properly. The protective mechanism ends up becoming a problem.”

The findings may help explain why symptoms such as fatigue and exercise intolerance are common in long COVID, as well as in several other post-viral syndromes with lasting symptoms.

The researchers say the study points to potential ways of preventing or reducing the impact of long COVID by rectifying iron dysregulation in early COVID-19 to prevent adverse long-term health outcomes.

One approach might be controlling the extreme inflammation as early as possible, before it impacts on iron regulation. Another approach might involve iron supplementation; however as Dr Hanson pointed out, this may not be straightforward.

“It isn’t necessarily the case that individuals don’t have enough iron in their body, it’s just that it’s trapped in the wrong place,” she said. “What we need is a way to remobilise the iron and pull it back into the bloodstream, where it becomes more useful to the red blood cells.”

The research also supports ‘accidental’ findings from other studies, including the IRONMAN study, which was looking at whether iron supplements benefited patients with heart failure – the study was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but preliminary findings suggest that trial participants were less likely to develop severe adverse effects from COVID-19. Similar effects have been observed among people living with the blood disorder beta-thalassemia, which can cause individuals to produce too much iron in their blood.

The research was funded by Wellcome, the Medical Research Council, NIHR and European Union Horizon 2020 Programme.

Reference
Hanson, AL et al. Iron dysregulation and inflammatory stress erythropoiesis associates with long-term outcome of COVID-19. Nat Imm; 1 March 2024; DOI: 10.1038/s41590-024-01754-8

source: cam.ac.uk

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The discovery of an extremely rare astrolabe reveals a complex history of Islamic – Jewish scientific exchange

By Tom Almeroth-Williams

The identification of an eleventh century Islamic astrolabe bearing both Arabic and Hebrew inscriptions makes it one of the oldest examples ever discovered and one of only a handful known in the world.

The astronomical instrument was adapted, translated and corrected for centuries by Muslim, Jewish and Christian users in Spain, North Africa and Italy.

Dr Federica Gigante, from Cambridge’s History Faculty and Christ’s College, made the discoveries in a museum in Verona, Italy, and just published her study in the journal Nuncius.

Dr Gigante first came across a newly-uploaded image of the astrolabe by chance on the website of the Fondazione Museo Miniscalchi-Erizzo. Intrigued, she asked them about it.

“The museum had not yet started an in-depth study of the object,” Dr Gigante said. “It’s now the single most important object in their collection.”

“When I visited the museum and studied the astrolabe up close, I noticed that not only was it covered in beautifully engraved Arabic inscriptions but that I could see faint inscriptions in Hebrew. I could only make them out in the raking light entering from a window. I thought I might be dreaming but I kept seeing more and more. It was very exciting.”

“This isn’t just an incredibly rare object. It’s a powerful record of scientific exchange between Arabs, Jews and Christians over hundreds of years.”

“The Verona astrolabe underwent many modifications, additions, and adaptations as it changed hands. At least three separate users felt the need to add translations and corrections to this object, two using Hebrew and one using a Western language.”

Astrolabes were the world’s first smartphone, a portable computer which could be put to hundreds of uses. They provided a portable two-dimensional model of the universe fitting in their user’s hand, enabling them to calculate time, distances, plot the position of the stars and even forecast the future, by casting a horoscope.

Islamic Spanish origins

Dr Gigante, an expert on Islamic astrolabes and previously a curator of Islamic scientific instruments, dated and located the creation of the ‘Verona astrolabe’ by analysing key scientific, design, construction and calligraphic characteristics.

She identified the object as Andalusian, and – from the style of the engraving, and the arrangement of the scales on the back – matched it to instruments made in Al–Andalus, the Muslim-ruled area of Spain, in the eleventh century.

One side of a plate is inscribed in Arabic “for the latitude of Cordoba, 38° 30′,” لعزض قرطبة لح ل, while the other side “for the latitude of Toledo, 40°,” لعزض طليطلة م. Dr Gigante suggests that the astrolabe might have been made in Toledo at a time when it was a thriving centre of coexistence and cultural exchange between Muslim, Jews and Christians.

The astrolabe features Muslim prayer lines and prayer names, arranged to ensure that its original intended users kept to time to perform their daily prayers.

Translated into English, the signature inscribed on the astrolabe reads “for Isḥāq […]/the work of Yūnus.” This was engraved sometime after the astrolabe was made probably for a later owner.

The two names, Isḥāq and Yūnus, that is Isaac and Jonah in English, could be Jewish names written in the Arabic script, a detail that suggests that the object was at a certain point circulating within a Sephardi Jewish community in Spain, where Arabic was the spoken language.

A second, added plate is inscribed for typical North African latitudes suggesting that another point of the object’s life, it was perhaps used in Morocco, or Egypt.

Hebrew inscriptions

Hebrew inscriptions were added to the astrolabe by more than one hand. One set of additions are carved deeply and neatly, while a different set of translations are very light, uneven, and show an insecure hand.

Dr Gigante said: “These Hebrew additions and translations suggest that at a certain point the object left Spain or North Africa and circulated amongst the Jewish diaspora community in Italy, where Arabic was not understood, and Hebrew was used instead.”

Unusually, one of the Hebrew additions, engraved neatly above the Arabic marking for latitude 35°, reads “34 and a half” rather than “34 ½”, which suggests that the engraver was not an astronomer or astrolabe maker.

Other Hebrew inscriptions are instead translations of the Arabic names for astrological signs, for Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, and Aries.

Dr Gigante points out that these translations reflect the recommendations prescribed by the Spanish Jewish polymath Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089–1167) in the earliest surviving treatise on the astrolabe in the Hebrew language written in 1146 in Verona, exactly where the astrolabe is found today.

 Jewish Verona

Twelfth-century Verona hosted one of the longest-standing and most important Jewish communities in Italy. Ibn Ezra’s treatise assumes pre-existing knowledge of the astrolabe among the Verona Jewish community, showing that the instrument must already have been popular.

Ibn Ezra’s description has a lot in common with the ‘Verona astrolabe’ which would have been in circulation by the time Ibn Ezra was in Verona. He warned his readers that an instrument must be checked before use to verify the accuracy of the values to be calculated.

Dr Gigante suggests that the person who added the Hebrew inscriptions might have been following such recommendations.

This part of the astrolabe features inscriptions in Arabic and Hebrew

Arabic

Hebrew

Incorrect corrections

The astrolabe features corrections inscribed not only in Hebrew but also in Western numerals, the same we use in English today.

All sides of the astrolabe’s plates feature lightly scratched markings in Western numerals, translating and correcting the latitude values, some even multiple times. Dr Gigante thinks it is highly likely that these additions were made in Verona for a Latin or Italian language speaker.

In one case, someone lightly scratched the numbers “42” and “40” near the inscription reading “for the latitude of Medinaceli, 41° 30’”.

Dr Gigante said: “Not only do both numerals differ from the value given in the Arabic, they don’t agree between themselves. It may be that a later user of the instrument thought the original Arabic value was wrong and amended it. But the correct, modern value for the latitude of Medinaceli is 41°15′, indicating that the Arabic value was more accurate than either amendment.”

Elsewhere on the instrument, Gigante found similar conflicting and erroneous amendments relating to the latitudes of Cordoba and Toledo.

Star map

The astrolabe features a ‘rete’ – a pierced disk representing a map of the sky – which is one of the earliest known made in Spain. Remarkably, it features similarities with the rete of the only surviving Byzantine astrolabe made in AD1062 as well as with those of the earliest European astrolabes, made in Spain on the model of Islamic ones.

A calculation of the star position allows a rough timing of the sky for which it was created. Dr Gigante explains that “due to a phenomenon called the precession of the equinoxes, whereby the earth rotates on its axis not in a straight line, but in a “wobbly” manner, like a spinning top about to stop, the stars’ apparent positions above our heads change constantly, about 1 degree every 70 years.”

By analysing the position of the stars on the rete, it is possible to calculate that they were placed in the position that stars had in the late 11^th century, and that they match those of other astrolabes made, for example, in AD 1068.

Later life

The astrolabe is thought to have made its way into the collection of the Veronese nobleman Ludovico Moscardo (1611–81) before passing by marriage to the Miniscalchi family. In 1990, the family founded the Fondazione Museo Miniscalchi-Erizzo to preserve the collections.

“This object is Islamic, Jewish and European, they can’t be separated,” Dr Gigante said.

References

F. Gigante, ‘A Medieval Islamic Astrolabe with Hebrew Inscriptions in Verona: The Seventeenth-Century Collection of Ludovico Moscardo’, Nuncius (2024). DOI : 10.1163/18253911-bja10095

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Published 4th March 2024

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Image credits

_{Astrolabe images: Federica Gigante
Federica Gigante: Federica Candelato}

source: cam.ac.uk

By Ellie Austin and Paul Casciato

Watch the full film and cast your vote

Climate action film “Facing The New Reality” featuring Cambridge Zero Director Professor Emily Shuckburgh is a finalist for the Smiley Charity Film Awards.

Watch and vote for the film
via this link by 12 March 2024

The 7-minute film, Facing The New Reality, premiered at the opening ceremony of the world’s biggest climate event of its kind at Climate Week NYC in September 2023, in front of hundreds of world-leading politicians, business executives and civil society representatives.

Since then, the film has been viewed more than 54,000 times online and has now been shortlisted in the Smiley Charity Film Awards.

The film is the only finalist with a sole focus on climate change, and is up against some of the industry’s biggest names, including a Greenpeace short film with Simon Pegg and Jane Fonda.

In Facing The New Reality, Professor Shuckburgh and fellow climate scientists Harvard’s Naomi Oreskes, World Meteorological Organization’s Petteri Taalas and Energy for Growth Hub’s Rose Mutiso take centre stage to report on the current state of the planet, outline the action needed to tackle climate change and urge global leaders to take the critical decisions today to construct a just and sustainable world.

Professor Shuckburgh offers a glimpse of optimism in the film and urges the assembled world leaders to press on with the critical action needed this decade to address climate change.

“We have all the building blocks in order to do it, we just simply haven’t put them together… yet,” Professor Shuckburgh said.

Climate Week NYC has grown hugely in importance from small panel discussions in 2009 to a weeklong happening of events, networking, dinners and spectacle and was described by New York Times as “Burning Man for Climate Geeks” last year.

Climate Week NYC is a partnership between The Climate Group and the United Nations General Assembly and is run in coordination with the United Nations and the City of New York.

In 2023 it centred around the UN General Assembly, the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Ambition Summit as well as hundreds of national government, business and climate group initiatives, making it a unique opportunity for Cambridge to communicate with the world.

Facing The New Reality was produced by The Climate Group, with the creative agency Nice & Serious, who ask viewers to “let it inspire us, let it challenge us, and let it empower us to act – because the time to make a difference is now.”

Watch the full film and cast your vote via the Smiley Charity Awards page by March 12th 2024.

“There’s still hope if we’re determined.”

Professor Emily Shuckburgh, Director of Cambridge Zero, the University of Cambridge’s ambitious climate change initiative to help to stop climate change and create a resilient and sustainable zero-carbon world.

“We’re thrilled to be a finalist at the Smiley Charity Film Awards, but what we really need is for global leaders to take bold action today to create a sustainable tomorrow.” – Prof Shuckburgh

Professor Shuckburgh also appeared on Climate Week NYC’s main stage for one of the key discussions on the New frontiers of Climate Action alongside the Chief Sustainability Officers of Google and Siemens, a Cambridge alumni event hosted by Cambridge in America Mission Possible: Creating a Better Planetary Future and met with dozens of supporters, policymakers, business, industry and climate leaders.

Across the week she shared Cambridge’s efforts to tackle climate change. She mentioned Cambridge research on materials, batteries, photovoltaics, the Cambridge ecosystem for innovation, including Cambridge research on AI, aviation, the Centre for Landscape Regeneration and the ground-breaking work of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative.

Published 5 March 2024

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source: cam.ac.uk

A galaxy that suddenly stopped forming new stars more than 13 billion years ago has been observed by astronomers.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers led by the University of Cambridge have spotted a ‘dead’ galaxy when the universe was just 700 million years old, the oldest such galaxy ever observed.

This galaxy appears to have lived fast and died young: star formation happened quickly and stopped almost as quickly, which is unexpected for so early in the universe’s evolution. However, it is unclear whether this galaxy’s ‘quenched’ state is temporary or permanent, and what caused it to stop forming new stars.

The results, reported in the journal Nature, could be important to help astronomers understand how and why galaxies stop forming new stars, and whether the factors affecting star formation have changed over billions of years.

“The first few hundred million years of the universe was a very active phase, with lots of gas clouds collapsing to form new stars,” said Tobias Looser from the Kavli Institute for Cosmology, the paper’s first author. “Galaxies need a rich supply of gas to form new stars, and the early universe was like an all-you-can-eat buffet.”

“It’s only later in the universe that we start to see galaxies stop forming stars, whether that’s due to a black hole or something else,” said co-author Dr Francesco D’Eugenio, also from the Kavli Institute for Cosmology.

Astronomers believe that star formation can be slowed or stopped by different factors, all of which will starve a galaxy of the gas it needs to form new stars. Internal factors, such as a supermassive black hole or feedback from star formation, can push gas out of the galaxy, causing star formation to stop rapidly. Alternatively, gas can be consumed very quickly by star formation, without being promptly replenished by fresh gas from the surroundings of the galaxy, resulting in galaxy starvation.

“We’re not sure if any of those scenarios can explain what we’ve now seen with Webb,” said co-author Professor Roberto Maiolino. “Until now, to understand the early universe, we’ve used models based on the modern universe. But now that we can see so much further back in time, and observe that the star formation was quenched so rapidly in this galaxy, models based on the modern universe may need to be revisited.”

Using data from JADES (JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey), the astronomers determined that this galaxy experienced a short and intense period of star formation over a period between 30 and 90 million years. But between 10 and 20 million years before the point in time where it was observed with Webb, star formation suddenly stopped.

“Everything seems to happen faster and more dramatically in the early universe, and that might include galaxies moving from a star-forming phase to dormant or quenched,” said Looser.

Astronomers have previously observed dead galaxies in the early universe, but this galaxy is the oldest yet – just 700 million years after the big bang, more than 13 billion years ago. This observation is one of the deepest yet made with Webb.

In addition to the oldest, this galaxy is also relatively low mass – about the same as the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a dwarf galaxy near the Milky Way, although the SMC is still forming new stars. Other quenched galaxies in the early universe have been far more massive, but Webb’s improved sensitivity allows smaller and fainter galaxies to be observed and analysed.

The astronomers say that although it appears dead at the time of observation, it’s possible that in the roughly 13 billion years since, this galaxy may have come back to life and started forming new stars again.

“We’re looking for other galaxies like this one in the early universe, which will help us place some constraints on how and why galaxies stop forming new stars,” said D’Eugenio. “It could be the case that galaxies in the early universe ‘die’ and then burst back to life – we’ll need more observations to help us figure that out.”

The research was supported in part by the European Research Council, the Royal Society, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

source: cam.ac.uk

Reference:
Tobias J. Looser et al. ‘A recently quenched galaxy 700 million years after the Big Bang.’ Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07227-0

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The winds that help to form planets in the gaseous discs of early solar systems have been imaged for the first time by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) using the noble gases neon and argon.

Planetary systems like our Solar System seem to contain more rocky objects than gas-rich ones. Around our sun, these include the inner planets, the asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt. But scientists have known for a long time that planet-forming discs start with 100 times more mass in gas than in solids, which leads to a pressing question; when and how does most of the gas leave the disc/system?

JWST is helping scientists uncover how planets form, by advancing understanding of their birthplaces, the circumstellar discs surrounding young stars. In a new study published in the Astronomical Journal, a team of scientists including those from the University of Leicester, the University of Cambridge and led by the University of Arizona, image for the first time an old planet-forming disc (still very young relative to the Sun) which is actively dispersing its gas content.

Knowing when the gas disperses is important as it constrains the time that is left for nascent planets to consume the gas from their surroundings.

During the very early stages of planetary system formation, planets coalesce in a spinning disc of gas and tiny dust around the young star. These particles clump together, building up into bigger and bigger chunks called planetesimals. Over time, these planetesimals collide and stick together, eventually forming planets. The type, size, and location of planets that form depend on the amount of material available and how long it remains in the disc. So, the outcome of planet formation depends on the evolution and dispersal of the disc.

At the heart of this discovery is the observation of T Cha, a young star (relative to the Sun) enveloped by an eroding disc notable for its vast dust gap, approximately 30 astronomical units in radius. For the first time, astronomers have imaged the dispersing gas (aka winds) using the four lines of the noble gases neon (Ne) and argon (Ar), one of which is the first detection in a planet-forming disc. The images of [Ne II] show that the wind is coming from an extended region of the disc. The team is also interested in knowing how this process takes place, so they can better understand the history and impact on our solar system.

Scientists have been trying to understand the mechanisms behind the winds in protoplanetary discs for over a decade. The observations by JWST represent a huge step-change in the data they have to work with, compared to previous data from ground-based telescopes.

“We first used neon to study planet-forming discs more than a decade ago, testing our computational simulations against data from Spitzer, and new observations we obtained with the ESO VLT,” said co-author Professor Richard Alexander from the University of Leicester. “We learned a lot, but those observations didn’t allow us to measure how much mass the discs were losing.

“The new JWST data are spectacular, and being able to resolve disc winds in images is something I never thought would be possible.  With more observations like this still to come, JWST will enable us to understand young planetary systems as never before.”

“These winds could be driven either by high-energy stellar photons (the star’s light) or by the magnetic field that weaves the planet-forming disc,” said Naman Bajaj from the University of Arizona, the study’s lead author.

To differentiate between the two, the same group, this time led by Dr Andrew Sellek of Leiden Observatory and previously of the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge, performed simulations of the dispersal driven by stellar photons. They compare these simulations to the actual observations and find dispersal by high-energy stellar photons can explain the observations, and hence cannot be excluded as a possibility.

“The simultaneous measurement of all four lines by JWST proved crucial to pinning down the properties of the wind and helped us to demonstrate that significant amounts of gas are being dispersed,” said Sellek.

To put it into context, the researchers calculate that the mass dispersing every year is equivalent to that of the moon! These results will be published in a companion paper, currently under review at the Astronomical Journal.

The [Ne II] line was discovered towards several planet-forming discs in 2007 with the Spitzer Space Telescope and soon identified as a tracer of winds by team member Professor Ilaria Pascucci at the University of Arizona; this transformed research efforts focused on understanding disc gas dispersal. Now the discovery of spatially resolved [Ne II] – as well as the first detection of [Ar III] – using the James Webb Space Telescope, could become the next step towards transforming our understanding of this process. 

The implications of these findings offer new insights into the complex interactions that lead to the dispersal of the gas and dust critical for planet formation. By understanding the mechanisms behind disc dispersal, scientists can better predict the timelines and environments conducive to the birth of planets. The team’s work demonstrates the power of JWST and sets a new path for exploring planet formation dynamics and the evolution of circumstellar discs.

source: cam.ac.uk

Reference:
Naman S. Bajaj et al. ‘JWST MIRI MRS Observations of T Cha: Discovery of a Spatially Resolved Disk Wind.’ The Astronomical Journal (2024). DOI: 10.3849/1538-3881/ad22e1

Adapted from a University of Leicester press release.

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The tone and tuning of musical instruments has the power to manipulate our appreciation of harmony, new research shows. The findings challenge centuries of Western music theory and encourage greater experimentation with instruments from different cultures.

There are many more kinds of harmony out therePeter Harrison

According to the Ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras, ‘consonance’ – a pleasant-sounding combination of notes – is produced by special relationships between simple numbers such as 3 and 4. More recently, scholars have tried to find psychological explanations, but these ‘integer ratios’ are still credited with making a chord sound beautiful, and deviation from them is thought to make music ‘dissonant’, unpleasant sounding. 

But researchers from the University of Cambridge, Princeton and the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, have now discovered two key ways in which Pythagoras was wrong.

Their study, published in Nature Communications, shows that in normal listening contexts, we do not actually prefer chords to be perfectly in these mathematical ratios.

“We prefer slight amounts of deviation. We like a little imperfection because this gives life to the sounds, and that is attractive to us,” said co-author, Dr Peter Harrison, from Cambridge’s Faculty of Music and Director of its Centre for Music and Science.

The researchers also found that the role played by these mathematical relationships disappears when you consider certain musical instruments that are less familiar to Western musicians, audiences and scholars. These instruments tend to be bells, gongs, types of xylophones and other kinds of pitched percussion instruments. In particular, they studied the ‘bonang’, an instrument from the Javanese gamelan built from a collection of small gongs.

“When we use instruments like the bonang, Pythagoras’s special numbers go out the window and we encounter entirely new patterns of consonance and dissonance,” Dr Harrison said.

“The shape of some percussion instruments means that when you hit them, and they resonate, their frequency components don’t respect those traditional mathematical relationships. That’s when we find interesting things happening.”

“Western research has focused so much on familiar orchestral instruments, but other musical cultures use instruments that, because of their shape and physics, are what we would call ‘inharmonic’. 

The researchers created an online laboratory in which over 4,000 people from the US and South Korea participated in 23 behavioural experiments. Participants were played chords and invited to give each a numeric pleasantness rating or to use a slider to adjust particular notes in a chord to make it sound more pleasant. The experiments produced over 235,000 human judgments.

The experiments explored musical chords from different perspectives. Some zoomed in on particular musical intervals and asked participants to judge whether they preferred them perfectly tuned, slightly sharp or slightly flat. The researchers were surprised to find a significant preference for slight imperfection, or ‘inharmonicity’. Other experiments explored harmony perception with Western and non-Western musical instruments, including the bonang.

Instinctive appreciation of new kinds of harmony

The researchers found that the bonang’s consonances mapped neatly onto the particular musical scale used in the Indonesian culture from which it comes. These consonances cannot be replicated on a Western piano, for instance, because they would fall between the cracks of the scale traditionally used. 

“Our findings challenge the traditional idea that harmony can only be one way, that chords have to reflect these mathematical relationships. We show that there are many more kinds of harmony out there, and that there are good reasons why other cultures developed them,” Dr Harrison said.

Importantly, the study suggests that its participants – not trained musicians and unfamiliar with Javanese music – were able to appreciate the new consonances of the bonang’s tones instinctively.

“Music creation is all about exploring the creative possibilities of a given set of qualities, for example, finding out what kinds of melodies can you play on a flute, or what kinds of sounds can you make with your mouth,” Harrison said.

“Our findings suggest that if you use different instruments, you can unlock a whole new harmonic language that people intuitively appreciate, they don’t need to study it to appreciate it. A lot of experimental music in the last 100 years of Western classical music has been quite hard for listeners because it involves highly abstract structures that are hard to enjoy. In contrast, psychological findings like ours can help stimulate new music that listeners intuitively enjoy.”

Exciting opportunities for musicians and producers

Dr Harrison hopes that the research will encourage musicians to try out unfamiliar instruments and see if they offer new harmonies and open up new creative possibilities. 

“Quite a lot of pop music now tries to marry Western harmony with local melodies from the Middle East, India, and other parts of the world. That can be more or less successful, but one problem is that notes can sound dissonant if you play them with Western instruments. 

“Musicians and producers might be able to make that marriage work better if they took account of our findings and considered changing the ‘timbre’, the tone quality, by using specially chosen real or synthesised instruments. Then they really might get the best of both worlds: harmony and local scale systems.”

Harrison and his collaborators are exploring different kinds of instruments and follow-up studies to test a broader range of cultures. In particular, they would like to gain insights from musicians who use ‘inharmonic’ instruments to understand whether they have internalised different concepts of harmony to the Western participants in this study.

Reference

R. Marjieh, P.M.C. Harrison, H. Lee, F. Deligiannaki, & N. Jacoby, ‘Timbral effects on consonance disentangle psychoacoustic mechanisms and suggest perceptual origins for musical scales’, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45812-z

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Professor Ross King from Cambridge’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, who originated the idea of a ‘Robot Scientist’, discusses why he believes that AI-powered scientists could surpass the best human scientists by the middle of the century, but only if AI for science is developed responsibly and ethically. 

Thanks to the widespread availability of food and medical care, the ability to travel, and many other scientific and technological developments, billions of people today are living better lives than kings of centuries past. It is deeply surprising to me how little appreciated this astonishing fact is.

Of course, despite all the progress we’ve made, the world faces many challenges in the 21st century: climate change, pandemics, poverty and cancer, to name just a few.

If all the countries in the world could join together to share technology and resources, we might be to deal with and overcome these challenges. However, history presents no example of such collaboration, and the current geopolitical situation does not offer much in the way of hope.

Our best hope of dealing with these challenges is to make science and technology more productive. The only feasible way to achieve this is through the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and laboratory automation.

AI systems already possess superhuman scientific powers. They can remember massive volumes of facts and learn from huge datasets. They can execute flawless logical reasoning, and near optimal probabilistic reasoning. They are can read every scientific paper, indeed everything ever written. These powers are complimentary to human scientists.

When the scientific method was developed in the 17th century, one of the core insights was the need to conduct experiments in the physical world, not just to think.

Today, laboratory automation is steadily advancing, and robots can now carry out most of the laboratory tasks that humans can. We are also now seeing the emergence of the ‘Cloud Lab’ concept. The idea is to provide laboratory automation at scale and remotely, with scientists sending their samples to the cloud lab, using a computer interface to design and execute their experiments.

And then there are AI Scientists: AI systems integrated with laboratory automations that are capable of carrying out the closed-loop automation of scientific research (aka ‘Robot Scientists’, ‘Self-driving Labs’). These systems automatically originate hypotheses to explain observations, devise experiments to test these hypotheses, physically run these experiments using laboratory robotics, interpret the results, and then repeat the cycle.

AI Scientists can work cheaper, faster, more accurately, and longer than humans. They can also be easily multiplied. As the experiments are conceived and executed automatically by computer, it’s possible to completely capture and digitally curate all aspects of the scientific process, making the science more reproducible. There are now around 100 AI Scientists around the world, working in areas from quantum mechanics to astronomy, from chemistry to medicine.

Within the last year or so the world has been stunned by the success of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, which have achieved breakthrough performance on a wide range of conversation-based tasks. LLMs are surprisingly strong absorbers of technical knowledge, such as chemical reactions and logical expressions. LLMs, and more broadly Foundation Models, show great potential for super-charging AI Scientists. They can act both as a source of scientific knowledge, since they have read all the scientific literature, and a source of new scientific hypotheses.

One of the current problems with LLMs is their tendency to hallucinate, that is to output statements that are not true. While this is a serious problem in many applications, it is not necessarily so in science, where physical experiments are the arbiters of truth. Hallucinations are hypotheses.

AI has been used as a tool in the research behind tens of thousands of scientific papers. We believe this only a start. We believe that AI has the potential to transform the very process of science.

We believe that by harnessing the power of AI, we can propel humanity toward a future where groundbreaking achievements in science, even achievements worthy of a Nobel Prize, can be fully automated. Such advances could transform science and technology, and provide hope of dealing with the formidable challenges that face humankind in the 21st century

The Nobel Turing Challenge aims to develop AI Scientists capable of making Nobel-quality scientific discoveries at a level comparable, and possibly superior to the best human scientists by 2050.

As well as being a potential transformative power for good, the application of AI to science has potential for harm. As a step towards preventing this harm, my colleagues and I have prepared the Stockholm Declaration on AI for Science. This commits the signees to the responsible and ethical development of AI for science. A copy of the declaration can be signed at: https://sites.google.com/view/stockholm-declaration. 

We urge all scientists working with AI to sign.

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A new test to help diagnose a condition that can lead to oesophageal cancer – developed by Cambridge researchers and trialled by the NHS – has reduced the need for invasive endoscopy in thousands of low-risk patients.

It is very exciting to see the positive results of the NHS England real-world pilot for our capsule-sponge testRebecca Fitzgerald

The NHS pilot, which has tested over 8,500 patients with the ‘capsule sponge test’, showed almost eight out of 10 patients who completed a test were discharged without the need for further testing, freeing up endoscopy capacity for higher risk patients and those referred for urgent tests for oesophageal cancer.

The test involves patients swallowing a small capsule-shaped device that contains a tiny sponge that collects cell samples for analysis before being extracted via a string thread attached to the sponge. It has been developed by Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald, Director of the Early Cancer Institute at the University of Cambridge.

Professor Fitzgerald said: “It is very exciting to see the positive results of the NHS England real-world pilot for our capsule-sponge test. This is a major step forward to making this simple test more routinely available outside of clinical trials. Timely diagnosis is vital for improving outcomes for patients.”

Barrett’s oesophagus – a condition affecting the food pipe which can go on to cause oesophageal cancer in some patients – is usually diagnosed or ruled out via endoscopy (a camera test of the food pipe) following a GP referral to a gastroenterologist or other specialist practitioner who can carry out the procedure.

The sponge-on-a-string test being trialled by the NHS can instead be carried out quickly in a short appointment, without the need for sedation.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said: “Thousands of people have now benefitted from this incredibly efficient test on the NHS – while the sponge on a string is small in size, it can make a big difference for patients – they can conveniently fit the test into their day and it can often replace the need for an endoscopy while also helping to reduce waiting lists by freeing up staff and resources.

“The NHS is always striving to adopt the latest innovations and new ways of working that help improve patient experience and increase efficiency simple sponge on a string test is just one example of many pioneering tools we’ve trialled in recent years to help diagnose and treat people sooner.”

In a survey of over 350 patients who had the capsule sponge test, patients often said they would recommend the test to a friend or family member, and 94% of patients reported experiencing only mild or no pain at all.

The NHS began piloting the test during the pandemic when there was increased pressure on services and a growing backlog for endoscopy.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux, also known as acid reflux, is a relatively common condition, affecting around one to two in every ten people to some degree, and some of these people may already have or will develop Barrett’s oesophagus, which is a precursor to oesophageal cancer.

There are around 9,300 new oesophageal cancer cases in the UK every year. The key to saving lives is to detect it an earlier stage of Barrett’s oesophagus before it becomes cancerous.

The NHS pilot was launched at 30 hospital sites across 17 areas in England including Manchester, Plymouth, London, Kent and Cumbria. Evaluation of the pilot showed that using capsule sponge was highly cost effective compared to using endoscopy-only for diagnosing patients – saving around £400 per patient.

Patients with positive results from the capsule sponge test who were referred on for an endoscopy had the highest prevalence of Barrett’s oesophagus at 27.2%, compared to zero patients with negative results who completed an endoscopy.

One of the first pilot sites at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust has now performed around 1,400 capsule sponge tests – offering to both patients with reflux symptoms via a new consultant led, nurse run early diagnosis service, as well as to patients on an existing Barrett’s surveillance programme.

In the first 1000 patients, the capsule test identified Barrett’s in 6% patients with reflux and found two new cancers and three patients with dysplasia who may have had a longer time to diagnosis otherwise. While 72% reflux patients were discharged back to their GP without the need for an endoscopy.

As of January, 368 patients have had a positive test result of whom about half have confirmed Barrett’s oesophagus.

Dr Danielle Morris, a consultant gastroenterologist at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, said: “Using the capsule sponge test as a diagnosis triage tool has had huge benefits for patients, avoiding the need for unnecessary gastroscopy in almost seven out of 10 patients, and helping to reduce endoscopy waiting lists enabling us to prioritise those who really need endoscopy to have it done quickly.

“The test is performed by a single trained practitioner in an outpatient setting, so it is very resource light compared to gastroscopy, and our patients are very supportive of the service – with almost nine in 10 patients preferring the capsule sponge to a gastroscopy.”

Adapted from a press release from NHS England.

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If all GP practices moved to a model where patients saw the same doctor at each visit, it could significantly reduce doctor workload while improving patient health, a study suggests. 

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How could tiny antennae attached to tiny algae speed up the transition away from fossil fuels? This is one of the questions being studied by Cambridge researchers as they search for new ways to decarbonise our energy supply, and improve the sustainability of harmful materials such as paints and dyes.

Funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, the Bio-inspired and Bionic materials for Enhanced Photosynthesis (BEEP) project, led by Professor Silvia Vignolini in the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, studied how marine organisms interact with light.

The four-year sustainable energy project brought together nine research groups from across Europe and drew its inspiration from nature, in particular from the marine world, where organisms including algae, corals and sea slugs have evolved efficient ways to convert sunlight into energy. Harnessing these properties could aid in the development of new artificial and bionic photosynthetic systems.

Some of the brightest and most colourful materials in nature – such as peacock feathers, butterfly wings and opals – get their colour not from pigments or dyes, but from their internal structure alone. The colours our eyes perceive originate from the interaction between light and nanostructures at the surface of the material, which reflect certain wavelengths of light.

As part of the BEEP project, the team studied structural colour in marine species. Some marine algae species have nanostructures in their cell walls that can transmit certain wavelengths of visible light or change their structures to guide the light inside the cell. Little is known about the function of these structures, however: scientists believe they might protect the organisms from UV light or optimise light harvesting capabilities.

The team studied the optical properties and light harvesting efficiency of a range of corals, sea-slugs, microalgae and seaweeds. By understanding the photonic and structural properties of these species, the scientists hope to design new materials for bio-photoreactors and bionic systems.

“We’re fascinated by the optical effects performed by these organisms,” said Maria Murace, a BEEP PhD candidate at Cambridge, who studies structural colour in seaweeds and marine bacteria. “We want to understand what the materials and the structures at the base of these colours are, which could lead to the development of green and sustainable alternatives to the conventional paints and toxic dyes we use today.”

BEEP also studied diatoms: tiny photosynthetic algae that live in almost every aquatic system on Earth and produce as much as half of the oxygen we breathe. The silica shells of these tiny algae form into stunning structures, but they also possess remarkable light-harvesting properties.

The BEEP team engineered tiny light-harvesting antennae and attached them to diatom shells. “These antennae allowed us to gather the light that would otherwise not be harvested by the organism, which is converted and used for photosynthesis,” said Cesar Vicente Garcia, one of the BEEP PhD students, from the University of Bari in Italy. “The result is promising: diatoms grow more! This research could inspire the design of powerful bio-photoreactors, or even better

The scientists engineered a prototype bio-photoreactor, consisting of a fully bio-compatible hydrogel which sustains the growth of microalgae and structural coloured bacteria. The interaction of these organisms is mutually beneficial, enhancing microalgal growth and increasing the volume of biomass produced, which could have applications in the biofuel production industry.

Alongside research, the network has organised several training and outreach activities, including talks and exhibitions for the public at science festivals in Italy, France and the UK.

“Society relies on science to drive growth and progress,” said Floriana Misceo, the BEEP network manager who coordinated outreach efforts. “It’s so important for scientists to share their research and help support informed discussion and debate because without it, misinformation can thrive, which is why training and outreach was an important part of this project.”

“Coordinating this project has been a great experience. I learned immensely from the other groups in BEEP and the young researchers,” said Vignolini. “The opportunity to host researchers from different disciplines in the lab was instrumental in developing new skills and approaching problems from a different perspective.”

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant.

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Cambridge mathematicians have developed a set of resources for students and teachers that will help them understand how maths can help tackle infectious diseases.

From measles and flu to SARS and COVID, mathematicians help us understand and predict the epidemics that can spread through our communities, and to help us look at strategies that we may be able to use to contain them.

The project, called Contagious Maths, was led by Professor Julia Gog from Cambridge’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), and was supported by a Rosalind Franklin Award from the Royal Society.

The curriculum-linked resources will give students between the ages 11 and 14 the opportunity to join researchers on the mathematical frontline to learn more about infectious disease spread, along with interactive tools to try mathematical modelling for themselves. Teachers receive full lesson plans, backed up by Cambridge research.

“I’ve always loved maths. I was lucky enough to have amazing teachers at sixth form who challenged me and were 100% behind me pursuing maths at the highest level, but maths as it’s taught in school can be highly abstract, so students often wonder what the point of maths even is,” said Gog, who is also Director of the Millennium Maths Project. “This is something I’m trying to help with now: to offer a glimpse from school to the research world to see the role mathematics can play in tackling important real-world problems.”

The Contagious Maths project introduces mathematical modelling; explores how mathematicians can model the spread of disease through a population and the type of questions we might think about when looking at models; and gives an insight into what mathematics researchers working on these real-life problems actually do.

“I’ve been engaged in outreach for many years at Cambridge, and the Contagious Maths project grew out of discussions with colleagues who have expertise in reaching school-age children,” said Gog. “The 11-14 age group we are targeting is a real crunch point for retaining girls in maths, and future female mathematicians. What exactly happens is complex and multifaceted, but this is a period when people form their views on how they fit with maths and science.

“Many of them disengage, as it can seem that maths at school is utterly disconnected from the real world. It can also be a time when maths appears very starkly right or wrong, whereas any research mathematician can tell you it’s always so much more subtle that than, and therefore so much more interesting!”

Gog hopes the Contagious Maths resources might be able to help, as they are designed to be used in regular school lessons, and cover a topic with clear real-world importance.

“The maths is never black and white in this field: there are always ways to challenge and develop the models, and some tricky thinking to be done about how the real epidemics and the simulations are really related to each other,” she said. “I suspect some students will find this frustrating, and just want maths to be algorithmic exercises. But some will be intrigued, and they are the ones we are trying to reach and expose to this larger world of applied maths research.”

Contagious Maths also provides teachers with all the ideas and tools they need, so they have at their fingertips all they need to deliver these lessons, even if they have no experience with research mathematics. “We hope this project will help these teachers to bring in the wider view of mathematics, and we hope it inspires them too,” said Gog. “It’s been really fun developing these resources, teaming up with both NRICH and Plus to make the most of our combined expertise.”

Maths teachers can attend a free online event on 20 March to learn more about the project.

In addition to the school resources, Gog and her colleagues have designed another version of Contagious Maths for a more general self-guided audience, which will work for students older than 14 or anyone, of any age, who is interested in learning about mathematical modelling.

“The paradox between the cleanness and precision of mathematics, and the utter hot mess of anything that involves biological dynamics across populations – like an outbreak of an infectious disease, is what intrigued me to stay in mathematics beyond my degree, and to move into research in mathematical biology,” said Gog. “Elegant theoretical ideas can tell us something valuable and universal about mitigating the devastating effects of disease on human and animal populations. Super abstract equations can hold fundamental truths about real-world problems – I don’t think I will ever tire of thinking about that.”

Adapted from a Royal Society interview with Professor Julia Gog.

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School uniform policies could be restricting young people from being active, particularly primary school-aged girls, new research suggests.

Social norms and expectations tend to influence what they feel they can do in these clothes. Unfortunately, when it comes to promoting physical health, that’s a problemEsther van Sluijs

The University of Cambridge study used data about the physical activity participation of more than a million five-to-17-year-olds internationally. It found that in countries where a majority of schools require students to wear uniforms, fewer young people tend to meet the average of 60 minutes of physical activity per day recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Regardless of uniform policies, across most countries fewer girls than boys reach those recommended exercise levels. Among primary school students, however, the difference in activity between girls and boys was found to be wider in countries where most schools mandated uniforms. The same result was not found in secondary school-aged students.

The authors suggest that this could be explained by the fact that younger children get more incidental exercise throughout the school day than older students; for example, through running, climbing and various other forms of active play at break and lunchtimes. There is already evidence that girls feel less comfortable in participating in active play if they are wearing certain types of clothing, such as skirts or dresses.

Importantly, the results do not definitively prove that school uniforms limit children’s physical activity and the researchers stress that “causation cannot be inferred”. Previous, smaller studies however provide support for these findings, indicating that uniforms could pose a barrier. For the first time, the research examines large-scale statistical evidence to assess that claim.

The study was led by Dr Mairead Ryan, a researcher at the Faculty of Education and Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge.

“Schools often prefer to use uniforms for various reasons,” Dr Ryan said. “We are not trying to suggest a blanket ban on them, but to present new evidence to support decision-making. School communities could consider design, and whether specific characteristics of a uniform might either encourage or restrict any opportunities for physical activity across the day.”

The WHO recommends that young people get an average of 60 minutes of at least moderate-intensity physical activity per day during the week. The study confirms previous observations that most children and adolescents are not meeting this recommendation, especially girls. The difference in the percentage of boys and girls meeting physical activity guidelines across all countries was, on average, 7.6 percentage points.

Existing evidence suggests that uniforms could be a factor. Previous concerns have, for example, been raised about girls’ PE uniforms and school sports kits. A 2021 study in England found that the design of girls’ PE uniforms deterred students from participating in certain activities, while the hockey player Tess Howard proposed redesigning gendered sports uniforms for similar reasons, after analysing interview and survey data.

Children often get their exercise away from PE and sports lessons, however.

“Activities like walking or cycling to school, breaktime games, and after-school outdoor play can all help young people incorporate physical activity into their daily routines,” Ryan said. “That’s why we are interested in the extent to which various elements of young people’s environments, including what they wear, encourage such behaviours.”

The study analysed existing data on the physical activity levels of nearly 1.1 million young people aged five to 17 in 135 countries and combined this with newly collected data on how common the use of school uniforms is in these countries.

In over 75% of the countries surveyed, a majority of schools required their students to wear uniforms. The study found that in these countries, physical activity participation was lower. The median proportion of all students meeting the WHO recommendations in countries where uniform-wearing was the norm was 16%; this rose to 19.5% in countries where uniforms were less common.

There was a consistent gender gap between boys’ and girls’ physical activity levels, with boys 1.5 times more likely to meet WHO recommendations across all ages. However, the gap widened from 5.5 percentage points at primary school level in non-uniform countries to a 9.8 percentage point difference in countries where uniforms were required in most schools.

The finding appears to match evidence from other studies suggesting that girls are more self-conscious about engaging in physical activity when wearing uniforms in which they do not feel comfortable.

“Girls might feel less confident about doing things like cartwheels and tumbles in the playground, or riding a bike on a windy day, if they are wearing a skirt or dress,” said senior author Dr Esther van Sluijs, MRC Investigator. “Social norms and expectations tend to influence what they feel they can do in these clothes. Unfortunately, when it comes to promoting physical health, that’s a problem.”

The authors of the study argue that there is now enough evidence to warrant further investigation into whether there is a causal relationship between school uniforms and lower activity levels. They also highlight the importance of regular physical activity for all young people, regardless of their gender.

“Regular physical activity helps support multiple physical, mental, and well-being needs, as well as academic outcomes,” Dr Ryan said. “We now need more information to build on these findings, considering factors like how long students wear their uniforms for after school, whether this varies depending on their background, and how broader gendered clothing norms may impact their activity.”

The findings are reported in the Journal of Sport and Health Science.

Reference
Ryan, M et al. Are school uniforms associated with gender inequalities in physical activity? A pooled analysis of population-level data from 135 countries/regions. Journal of Sport and Health Science; 15 Feb 2024; DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2024.02.003

Cambridge scientists have identified more than one hundred key genes linked to DNA damage through systematic screening of nearly 1,000 genetically modified mouse lines.

Continued exploration on genomic instability is vital to develop tailored treatments that tackle the root genetic causes

Gabriel Balmus

The work, published in Nature, provides insights into cancer progression and neurodegenerative diseases as well as a potential therapeutic avenue in the form of a protein inhibitor.

The genome contains all the genes and genetic material within an organism’s cells. When the genome is stable, cells can accurately replicate and divide, passing on correct genetic information to the next generation of cells. Despite its significance, little is understood about the genetic factors governing genome stability, protection, repair, and the prevention of DNA damage.

In this new study, researchers from the UK Dementia Research Institute, at the University of Cambridge, and the Wellcome Sanger Institute set out to better understand the biology of cellular health and identify genes key to maintaining genome stability.

Using a set of genetically modified mouse lines, the team identified 145 genes that play key roles in either increasing or decreasing the formation of abnormal micronuclei structures. These structures indicate genomic instability and DNA damage, and are common hallmarks of ageing and diseases.

The most dramatic increases in genomic instability were seen when the researchers knocked out the gene DSCC1, increasing abnormal micronuclei formation five-fold. Mice lacking this gene mirrored characteristics akin to human patients with a number of rare genetic disorders, further emphasising the relevance of this research to human health.

Using CRISPR screening, researchers showed this effect triggered by DSCC1 loss could be partially reversed through inhibiting protein SIRT1. This offers a highly promising avenue for the development of new therapies.

The findings help shed light on genetic factors influencing the health of human genomes over a lifespan and disease development.

Professor Gabriel Balmus, senior author of the study at the UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, formerly at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: “Continued exploration on genomic instability is vital to develop tailored treatments that tackle the root genetic causes, with the goal of improving outcomes and the overall quality of life for individuals across various conditions.”

Dr David Adams, first author of the study at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: “Genomic stability is central to the health of cells, influencing a spectrum of diseases from cancer to neurodegeneration, yet this has been a relatively underexplored area of research. This work, of 15 years in the making, exemplifies what can be learned from large-scale, unbiased genetic screening. The 145 identified genes, especially those tied to human disease, offer promising targets for developing new therapies for genome instability-driven diseases like cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders.”

This research was supported by Wellcome and the UK Dementia Research Institute.

Reference
Adams, DJ et al. Genetic determinants of micronucleus formation in vivo. Nature; 14 Feb 2024; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-07009-0

Adapted from a press release from the Wellcome Sanger Institute.

source: cam.ac.uk

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By Stephen Bevan
Published: 15th February 2024

New types of cancer treatment – which use the body’s immune system to fight the disease and are “kinder” to patients than chemotherapy ­– will feature at this year’s Cambridge Festival.

Cambridge researchers will discuss their pioneering work in cancer immunotherapy as part of a package of events focusing on cancer and the University’s work to help end the death and disease it causes.

Klaus Okkenhaug, Professor of Immunology in the Department of Pathology, says immunotherapy is already changing patients’ experience of cancer treatment, and has the potential to transform cancer care and outcomes in the future.

“These are drugs that remove the brakes on the immune system and unleash powerful immune responses, and that’s very effective against cancer,” he said.  “It’s a therapy which is advancing rapidly now, with a large number of immunotherapies approved over recent years. What’s exciting is that many patients have gone into very, very long-term remission, and in fact some of those patients are considered effectively cured. It’s less toxic than chemotherapy, so it’s also kinder on patients.”

In Cancer immunotherapy: Innovation from laboratory bench to bedside (28 March), Professor Okkenhaug, Dr Pippa Corrie and Professor Rahul Roychoudhuri will explain how the current treatments work – among them cancer-killing viruses, tumour vaccines, and adoptive cell therapy – how they help patients, and how they might be improved.

“Cancer immunotherapy has already achieved a lot,” said Prof Okkenhaug. “We’ve had tremendous success with tumour vaccines, particularly those against Human papillomavirus (HPV) which can cause cervical cancer – and which now we could potentially eradicate. And there is also a lot of excitement about adoptive cell therapy, a personalised treatment where cells taken from a patient’s blood are genetically modified and reintroduced to kill the disease. There have been some remarkable results, particularly in blood cancers.

“There are amazing opportunities, and because of Cambridge’s unique ecosystem, where so many scientists are working together, and working in partnerships with industry, you actually see the time it takes for an idea to be translated into patient trials get smaller.”

Get hands-on with cancer research in Cambridge (16 March), also part of the Festival, is a day of interactive science featuring the groundbreaking programmes and institutes of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre.

Alongside exhibits, experiments, informative demonstrations, and plenty of fun activities, scientists and clinicians will help tell the full story of the cancer research happening across Cambridge.

Neuropathologist Dr Mayen Briggs is part of the team running the Minderoo Precision Brain Tumour Programme, which is working to revolutionise treatment and improve survival rates for brain cancer patients with more targeted and effective care.

Patients with the most aggressive and fatal form of brain tumour, glioblastoma, are being offered a detailed diagnosis and tailored treatment plan, based on genomic sequencing.

“The idea is to use more targeted and precision brain chemotherapy by understanding the genetics behind a lot of these tumours,” said Dr Briggs, “and to sequence all of these tumours, understand what is driving them, and to identify instances where other drugs can be used.

“It has a big impact. We’re not just using information on which genes might be mutated, but also how these mutations might be affecting how these genes work. This additional information has the potential to guide treatment. If a patient isn’t responding to a particular therapy, using this information, we can try and work out why.

“It’s information we didn’t have before and it opens up truly personalised treatment options for patients, therapies that wouldn’t normally have been available to them because they’re not part of conventional treatments. It’s an especially significant development for those patients where therapy hasn’t changed a huge amount in terms of what we’re able to offer them.”

So far, the programme – which has enrolled more than 200 patients from Addenbrooke’s Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – has identified potential drug targets in more than 90 per cent of patients on the trial, recommended precision therapies for 10 per cent, and informed a change in diagnosis and treatment for three per cent.

Dr Briggs – a member of the Brain Cancer Virtual Institute at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre ­– will join colleagues in ‘Jelly brain surgery and neuropathology’ as part of CRUK’s Festival activities. Festival-goers will get the chance to step into the role of a brain surgeon and operate on special jelly ‘brains’, working with neuropathologists to recognise the patterns and identify the features of normal and abnormal brain tissue.

The event – at the Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology – will also include an opportunity to find out more about the new Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital, and contribute ideas. Visitors can also get creative with an activity decorating radiotherapy masks.

Other Cambridge Festival events include:

Researching cancer in Cambridge (23 and 24 March), will hear from Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute scientists about the work they are doing as part of their mission for 3 in 4 people to survive cancer by 2034. Interactive stalls will focus on two of the fundamental questions that all cancer researchers must ask: How do we identify cancer in the body? And, how do we get rid of it safely and effectively? There will be an opportunity to look inside the body using light, sound, magnets and more, and the chance to hear an MRI orchestra.  

A talk – Urgent call for cancer awareness in francophone Africa (22 March) – by Cambridge post-doctoral Research Associate Dr Yvonne Joko Walburga will take the audience through the epidemiology of cancer in French-speaking Africa. She will speak about the most common cancers, the risk factors, the prevention measures that are in place, and the challenges of cancer treatment and research on the sub-Saharan African continent, with a focus on French-speaking Africa.

Challenging the mysteries of cancer (16 March), features a range of interactive activities: looking at real cancer cells under the microscope, creating DIY 3D cells, finding the right antibody (key) that fits the right antigen (lock), and origami to make 2D miniature lab coats.

Science spotlight: Step into our science (21 March), is an online event which includes a virtual tour of the Babraham Institute’s Biological Support Unit to see how vital work is carried out at the world-leading biosciences research institute. Much of the Institute’s work underpins biomedical treatments for conditions such as cancer, autoimmune conditions and infectious diseases, to name a few.

The Cambridge Festival, which runs 13-28 March, is one of the largest of its kind in the country, featuring more than 360 mostly free events, and showcases cutting edge research across the University of Cambridge and beyond.

How you can support Cambridge’s cancer research.

The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

source: cam.ac.uk

The University of Cambridge is a partner in the new £11m Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) REWIRE, set to deliver pioneering semiconductor technologies and new electronic devices.

Semiconductors, also known as microchips, are a key component in nearly every electrical device from mobile phones and medical equipment to electric vehicles.

They are increasingly being recognised as an area of global strategic significance due to the integral role they play in net zero, AI and quantum technology.

Co-created and delivered with industry, the REWIRE IKC is led by the University of Bristol, in partnership with Cambridge and Warwick Universities.

The IKC will accelerate the UK’s ambition for net zero by transforming the next generation of high-voltage electronic devices using wide/ultra-wide bandgap (WBG/UWBG) compound semiconductors.

The project is being led by Professor Martin Kuball and his team at the University of Bristol. Cambridge members of the IKC team include Professors Rachel Oliver, Florin Udrea and Teng Long.

The centre will advance the next generation of semiconductor power device technologies and enhance the security of the UK’s semiconductor supply chain.

Compound semiconductor WBG/UWBG devices have been recognised in the UK National Semiconductor Strategy as key elements to support the net zero economy through the development of high voltage and low energy-loss power electronic technology.

They are essential building blocks for developing all-electric trains, ships and heavy goods electric vehicles, better charging infrastructure, renewable energy and High Voltage Direct Current grid connections, as well as intelligent power distribution and energy supplies to telecommunication networks and data centres.

“Power devices are at the centre of all power electronic systems and pave the way for more efficient and compact power electronic systems, reducing energy loss,” said Kuball. “The REWIRE IKC will focus on power conversion of wind energy, electric vehicles, smart grids, high-temperature applications, device and packaging, and improving the efficiency of semiconductor device manufacture.”

Our home electrical supply is at 240 Volts, but to handle the power from offshore wind turbines, devices will have to operate at thousands of Volts. These very high voltages can easily damage the materials normally used in power electronics.

“Newly emerging ultra-wide bandgap materials have properties which enable them to handle very large voltages more easily,” said Oliver, who Director of the Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride. “The devices based on these materials will waste less energy and be smaller, lighter and cheaper. The same materials can also withstand high temperatures and doses of radiation, which means they can be used to enable other new electricity generation technologies, such as fusion energy.”

“The REWIRE IKC will play a prominent role within the UK’s semiconductor strategy, in cementing the UK’s place as a leader in compound semiconductor research and development, developing IP to be exploited here in the UK, rebuilding the UK semiconductor supply chain, and training the next generation of semiconductor materials scientists and engineers,” said Professor Peter Gammon from the University of Warwick.

Industry partners in the REWIRE IKC include Ampaire, BMW, Bosch, Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD), Element-Six Technologies, General Electric, Hitachi Energy, IQE, Oxford Instruments, Siemens, ST Microelectronics and Toshiba.

REWIRE is one of two new IKCs announced being funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Innovate UK, both part of UK Research and Innovation. The second IKC at the University of Southampton will improve development and commercialisation of silicon photonics technologies in the UK.

“This investment marks a crucial step in advancing our ambitions for the semiconductor industry, with these centres helping bring new technologies to market in areas like net zero and AI, rooting them right here in the UK,” said Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy Saqib Bhatti. “Just nine months into delivering on the National Semiconductor Strategy, we’re already making rapid progress towards our goals. This isn’t just about fostering growth and creating high-skilled jobs, it’s about positioning the UK as a hub of global innovation, setting the stage for breakthroughs that have worldwide impact.”

Adapted from a University of Bristol media release.

For more information on energy-related research in Cambridge, please visit the Energy IRC, which brings together Cambridge’s research knowledge and expertise, in collaboration with global partners, to create solutions for a sustainable and resilient energy landscape for generations to come.

source: cam.ac.uk

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Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the British Antarctic Survey have uncovered the first direct evidence that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet shrunk suddenly and dramatically at the end of the Last Ice Age, around 8,000 years ago.

The evidence, contained within an ice core, shows that in one location the ice sheet thinned by 450 metres — that’s more than the height of the Empire State Building — in just under 200 years.

This is the first evidence anywhere in Antarctica for such a fast loss of ice. Scientists are worried that today’s rising temperatures might destabilize parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the future, potentially passing a tipping point and inducing a runaway collapse. The study, published in Nature Geoscience, sheds light on how quickly Antarctic ice could melt if temperatures continue to soar.

“We now have direct evidence that this ice sheet suffered rapid ice loss in the past,” said Professor Eric Wolff, senior author of the new study from Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences. “This scenario isn’t something that exists only in our model predictions and it could happen again if parts of this ice sheet become unstable.”

From west to east, the Antarctic ice sheets contain enough freshwater to raise global sea levels by around 57 metres. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is considered particularly vulnerable because much of it sits on bedrock below sea level.

Model predictions suggest that a large part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could disappear in the next few centuries, causing sea levels to rise. Exactly when and how quickly the ice could be lost is, however, uncertain.

One way to train ice sheet models to make better predictions is to feed them with data on ice loss from periods of warming in Earth’s history. At the peak of the Last Ice Age 20,000 years ago, Antarctic ice covered a larger area than today. As our planet thawed and temperatures slowly climbed, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet contracted to more or less its current extent.

“We wanted to know what happened to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet at the end of the Last Ice Age, when temperatures on Earth were rising, albeit at a slower rate than current anthropogenic warming,” said Dr Isobel Rowell, study co-author from the British Antarctic Survey. “Using ice cores we can go back to that time and estimate the ice sheet’s thickness and extent.”

Ice cores are made up of layers of ice that formed as snow fell and was then buried and compacted into ice crystals over thousands of years. Trapped within each ice layer are bubbles of ancient air and contaminants that mixed with each year’s snowfall — providing clues as to the changing climate and ice extent.

The researchers drilled a 651-metre-long ice core from Skytrain Ice Rise in 2019. This mound of ice sits at the edge of the ice sheet, near the point where grounded ice flows into the floating Ronne Ice Shelf.

After transporting the ice cores to Cambridge at -20C, the researchers analysed them to reconstruct the ice thickness. First, they measured stable water isotopes, which indicate the temperature at the time the snow fell. Temperature decreases at higher altitudes (think of cold mountain air), so they could equate warmer temperatures with lower-lying, thinner ice.

They also measured the pressure of air bubbles trapped in the ice. Like temperature, air pressure also varies systematically with elevation. Lower-lying, thinner ice contains higher-pressure air bubbles.

These measurements told them that ice thinned rapidly 8,000 years ago. “Once the ice thinned, it shrunk really fast,” said Wolff, “this was clearly a tipping point — a runaway process.”

They think this thinning was probably triggered by warm water getting underneath the edge of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which normally sits on bedrock. This likely untethered a section of the ice from bedrock, allowing it to float suddenly and forming what is now the Ronne Ice Shelf. This allowed neighbouring Skytrain Ice Rise, no longer restrained by grounded ice, to thin rapidly. 

The researchers also found that the sodium content of the ice (originating from salt in sea spray) increased about 300 years after the ice thinned. This told them that, after the ice thinned, the ice shelf shrunk back so that the sea was hundreds of kilometres nearer to their site.

“We already knew from models that the ice thinned around this time, but the date of this was uncertain,” said Rowell. Ice sheet models placed the retreat anywhere between 12,000 and 5,000 years ago and couldn’t say how quickly it happened. “We now have a very precisely dated observation of that retreat that can be built into improved models,” said Rowell.

Although the West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated quickly 8,000 years ago, it stabilised when it reached roughly its current extent. “It’s now crucial to find out whether extra warmth could destabilise the ice and cause it to start retreating again,” said Wolff.

Reference

Grieman et al. (2024) Abrupt Holocene ice loss due to thinning and ungrounding in the Weddell Sea Embayment. Nature Geoscience. DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01375-8

source: cam.ac.uk

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The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright ©University of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

“Follow your curiosity”

By Ellie Austin

To mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science , two of our academics speak about their research careers and how they ended up using their STEM interests to tackle climate change. 

Build food security amid changing environments with crop science

Dr Nadia Radzman is a plant biologist. She’s an expert in legume biology, i.e., “anything that’s got to do with beans!…I’m a little bit obsessive about it.” 

“I initially wanted to do something with virology…I didn’t even consider plant biology as something I wanted to pursue,” said Dr Radzman.

However, after finding herself allocated to a plant biology lab during her second summer of undergrad, she wound up falling in love with legumes.

Now she uses her background in chemistry and molecular biology, and her love for beans, to secure a brighter, well-nourished future for people across the planet. 

“Within the context of climate change, [legumes] will become very important in the future,” said Dr Radzman. 

Her work investigates how the important plant nutrient, nitrogen, can be acquired naturally by the plant from the air (“fixed”), without the use of polluting synthetic fertilisers.

She’s also interested in how plants can be used to breathe in the climate-changing greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, to trap (“sequester”) carbon underground. 

“Legumes can mutually associate with very specific bacteria in the soil through symbiosis and form these structures on the roots called nodules…these nodules fix nitrogen from the air into a form that can be utilised by the plants,” said Dr Radzman.

“Because nitrogen and carbon are very strongly correlated, if you have a higher fixation of nitrogen it also correlates with a higher sequestration of carbon too.”

“When we want to fix nitrogen from the air we have to use the Haber-Bosch process, which is high temperature and a lot of fossil fuels…but plants can do it in just ambient temperature.” 

Dr Radzman’s latest project is applying her findings about these underground roots structures into the aboveground shoots. She’s interested in how a changing environment will influence the shoot, which is the part of the plant that produces the beans.

“I figured out that there are aspects of [nodules] that can be translated into the shoot…and the shoot is important in terms of food security, and when we talk about climate change.” 

Dr Radzman is also one of the first batch of King’s College Research Associates in their entrepreneurship lab. Her start-up idea is to improve the technology available to transfer genetically modified plant tissue into field-ready growing plants, which is one of the most challenging aspects of engineering crops. 

She was inspired to scale-up her science to industry after being approached by a few African NGOs asking how they can adapt their agriculture to the increasingly extreme dry seasons due to climate change.

“Native African legume crops are very drought tolerant, but these crops are usually forgotten or neglected…these crops need to have a higher yield to support the population.”

“Because of climate change, we need to improve our crops faster and cheaper, especially for the Global South. To do that, we will need new technologies,” said Dr Radzman. 

“Having a role model is important. It can be a motivation that someone has made it, so I can do it too.”

Dr Nadia Radzman

Creating safe and sustainable batteries for the energy transition

Dr Svetlana Menkin is interested in battery interfaces. Her research is all about next-generation batteries, which involve using materials such as Sodium and Calcium ions, or Zinc, to store energy.

These batteries are vital for green transition to store the production of renewable energy, so that we can use our captured solar energy from the day well into the night. 

But what is a battery interface? What is a battery? Why does it matter? Dr Menkin explains:

“In batteries we have cathodes and anodes (two electrodes), which are connected by electrolytes, which are absorbed in a separator. This electrolyte allows ions to pass from one side to another, but not the electrons.” 

This transport of electrons and ions creates what’s known as a “charge transport.” The purpose of batteries is to store a charge, i.e. store electrical energy, which can then be “discharged” to power our devices. 

“When you charge a battery, you ‘put in’ electrons from the circuit, which forces the ions from one electrode to the other. When you discharge, you let these ions (this ‘charge’ that you’ve passed) go back [to the other electrode] which then gives up the electrons you stored. You then use these electrons for the device…and this is how you store energy in a battery.” Eureka! 

“Batteries are all about controlling how this charge is transported,” said Menkin. “Between the electrodes, in the electrolyte, the charge should pass…but typically the electrodes develop a layer at the interface [between the electrodes and the electrolytes],” said Menkin, which could happen for example as a product of a chemical reaction of the electrolyte with the anode. 

“This is very critical for the battery because this will determine performance: how fast it can charge, safety of the battery, the degradation/ how many cycles it can do.” 

These next-generation batteries are more sustainable than alternatives such as Lithium-ion batteries. “Calcium is one of the most abundant elements…it is three magnitudes more abundant than lithium. Lithium is only found in particular places, and so it’s more energy intensive to move it about from place to place. The methods to extract Lithium from sources are also not very environmentally friendly,” said Dr Menkin.

The challenge with these next-generation batteries, however, is that this interface becomes very unstable. When unchecked, this instability can lead to short-circuits and battery fires.

Dr Menkin aims to understand these interfaces so she can improve battery safety, and hence the availability of more sustainable batteries to industry.

“Eight years ago calcium-rechargeable batteries were considered impossible…so it’s very new, but we will try.” 

Mentoring Women and Girls in Science

When asked about what first sparked their interest in STEM, Dr Radzman and Dr Menkin both noted female teachers in their early education.

“Towards the end of high school, I had a chemistry teacher. I remember one class where she explained to us the structure of diamonds, and I was fascinated by how diamonds and coal are made of the same carbon atoms but it is the structure that makes them so different…I was inspired by how excited she was. This was when it clicked: I was going to study chemistry,” said Dr Menkin.  

“I had a very good high school teacher…in my high school, there were not a lot of girls who wanted to pursue science. But she was really, really encouraging, and motivated me to pursue [my interests in STEM],” said Dr Radzman.

“Having a role model is important,” said Dr Radzman. It can be a motivation that someone has made it, so I can do it too.”

“Each step that I made, to bring me to where I am now, I had somebody who was there to support me and was there to tell me ‘yes this is possible for you,’” said Dr Menkin. 

Radzman’s final piece of advice? “Follow your curiosity…take up your space, and stand your ground.”

“We see that female candidates, if they see that they are almost hitting the criteria, they don’t apply. Male candidates, [who are] not eligible, [they] apply. I think this is the critical point: you need somebody to tell you that it is possible for you,” said Dr Menkin.  

“If you look at something and you can imagine yourself being happy there, apply. Go for it! …if you wonder whether it’s possible for you, it is,” said Dr Menkin.

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is a campaign to promote full and equal access and participation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Applications to join Dr Menkin’s lab as a PhD student are open now until the end of the month. Find out more information about how to apply here.

Published 11 February 2024

^{Images: Nick Saffell}

source: cam.ac.uk

_{The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License}

A team of astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, has used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to reveal, for the first time, what lies in the local environment of galaxies in the very early Universe.

This has solved one of the most puzzling mysteries in astronomy – why astronomers detect light from hydrogen atoms that should have been entirely blocked by the pristine gas that formed after the Big Bang.

These new observations have found small, faint objects surrounding the galaxies that show the ‘inexplicable’ hydrogen emission. In conjunction with state-of-the-art simulations of galaxies in the early Universe, the observations have shown that the chaotic merging of these neighbouring galaxies is the source of this hydrogen emission. The results are reported in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Light travels at a finite speed (300 000 km a second), which means that the further away a galaxy is, the longer it has taken the light from it to reach our Solar System. As a result, not only do observations of the most distant galaxies probe the far reaches of the Universe, but they also allow us to study the Universe as it was in the past.

To study the early Universe, astronomers require exceptionally powerful telescopes that are capable of observing very distant – and therefore very faint – galaxies. One of Webb’s key capabilities is its ability to observe these galaxies, and probe the early history of the Universe.

The earliest galaxies were sites of vigorous and active star formation, and were rich sources of a type of light emitted by hydrogen atoms called Lyman-α emission. However, during the epoch of reionisation, an immense amount of neutral hydrogen gas surrounded these stellar nurseries. Furthermore, the space between galaxies was filled by more of this neutral gas than is the case today. The gas can effectively absorb and scatter this kind of hydrogen emission, so astronomers have long predicted that the abundant Lyman-α emission released in the early Universe should not be observable today.

This theory has not always stood up to scrutiny, however, as examples of early hydrogen emission have previously been observed by astronomers. This has presented a mystery: how is it that this hydrogen emission – which should have long since been absorbed or scattered – is being observed?

“One of the most puzzling issues that previous observations presented was the detection of light from hydrogen atoms in the very early Universe, which should have been entirely blocked by the pristine neutral gas that was formed after the Big Bang,” said lead author Callum Witten from Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy. “Many hypotheses have previously been suggested to explain the great escape of this ‘inexplicable’ emission.”

The team’s breakthrough came thanks to Webb’s combination of angular resolution and sensitivity. The observations with Webb’s NIRCam instrument were able to resolve smaller, fainter galaxies that surround the bright galaxies from which the ‘inexplicable’ hydrogen emission had been detected. In other words, the surroundings of these galaxies appear to be a much busier place than we previously thought, filled with small, faint galaxies.

These smaller galaxies were interacting and merging with one another, and Webb has revealed that galaxy mergers play an important role in explaining the mystery emission from the earliest galaxies.

“Where Hubble was seeing only a large galaxy, Webb sees a cluster of smaller interacting galaxies, and this revelation has had a huge impact on our understanding of the unexpected hydrogen emission from some of the first galaxies,” said co-author Sergio Martin-Alvarez from Stanford University.

The team then used computer simulations to explore the physical processes that might explain their results. They found that the rapid build-up of stellar mass through galaxy mergers both drove strong hydrogen emission and facilitated the escape of that radiation via channels cleared of the abundant neutral gas. So, the high merger rate of the previously unobserved smaller galaxies presented a compelling solution to the long-standing puzzle of the ‘inexplicable’ early hydrogen emission.

The team is planning follow-up observations with galaxies at various stages of merging, to continue to develop their understanding of how the hydrogen emission is ejected from these changing systems. Ultimately, this will enable them to improve our understanding of galaxy evolution.

Reference:
Callum Witten et al. ‘Deciphering Lyman-α emission deep into the epoch of reionization.’ Nature Astronomy (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-023-02179-3

Adapted from an ESA press release.

source: cam.ac.uk

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Scientists have grown ‘mini-placentas’ in the lab and used them to shed light on how the placenta develops and interacts with the inner lining of the womb – findings that could help scientists better understand and, in future, potentially treat pre-eclampsia.

Most of the major disorders of pregnancy – pre-eclampsia, still birth, growth restriction, for example – depend on failings in the way the placenta develops in the first few weeks. This is a process that is incredibly difficult to study.Ashley Moffett

The study, published today in Cell Stem Cell, shows that it is possible to experiment on a developing human placenta, rather than merely observe specimens, in order to study major disorders of pregnancy.

Successful pregnancy depends on the development of the placenta in the first few weeks of gestation. During this period, the placenta implants itself into the endometrium – the mucosal lining of the mother’s uterus.

Interactions between the cells of the endometrium and the cells of the placenta are critical to whether a pregnancy is successful. In particular, these interactions are essential to increase the maternal blood supply to the placenta, necessary for fetal growth and development.

When these interactions do not work properly, they can lead to complications, such as pre-eclampsia, a condition that causes high blood pressure during pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia occurs in around six in 100 first pregnancies and can put at risk the health of both the mother and the baby.

Professor Ashley Moffett from the Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge said: “Most of the major disorders of pregnancy – pre-eclampsia, still birth, growth restriction, for example – depend on failings in the way the placenta develops in the first few weeks. This is a process that is incredibly difficult to study – the period after implantation, when the placenta embeds itself into the endometrium, is often described as a ‘black box of human development’.

“Over the past few years, many scientists – including several at Cambridge – have developed embryo-like models to help us understand early pre-implantation development. But further development is impeded because we understand so little about the interactions between the placenta and the uterus.”

Professor Moffett and colleagues at the Friedrich Miescher Institute, Switzerland, and the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, have used ‘mini-placentas’ – a cellular model of the early stages of the placenta – to provide a window into early pregnancy and help improve our understanding of reproductive disorders. Known as ‘trophoblast organoids’, these are grown from placenta cells and model the early placenta so closely that they have previously been shown to record a positive response on an over-the-counter pregnancy test.

In previous work, Professor Moffett and colleagues identified genes that increase the risk of or protect against conditions such as pre-eclampsia. These highlighted the important role of immune cells uniquely found in the uterus, known as ‘uterine natural killer cells’, which cluster in the lining of the womb at the site where the placenta implants. These cells mediate the interactions between the endometrium and the cells of the placenta.

In their new study, her team applied proteins secreted by the uterine natural killer cells to the trophoblast organoids so that they could mimic the conditions where the placenta implants itself. They identified particular proteins that were crucial to helping the organoids develop. These proteins will contribute to successful implantation, allowing the placenta to invade the uterus and transform the mother’s arteries.

“This is the only time that we know of where a normal cell invades and transforms an artery, and these cells are coming from another individual, the baby,” said Professor Moffett, who is also a Fellow at King’s College, Cambridge.

“If the cells aren’t able to invade properly, the arteries in the womb don’t open up and so the placenta – and therefore the baby – are starved of nutrients and oxygen. That’s why you get problems later on in pregnancy, when there just isn’t enough blood to feed the baby and it either dies or is very tiny.”

The researchers also found several genes that regulate blood flow and help with this implantation, which Professor Moffett says provide pointers for future research to better understand pre-eclampsia and similar disorders.

Dr Margherita Turco, from the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Switzerland and co-lead of this work, added: “Despite affecting millions of women a year worldwide, we still understand very little about pre-eclampsia. Women usually present with pre-eclampsia at the end of pregnancy, but really to understand it – to predict it and prevent it – we have to look at what’s happening in the first few weeks.

“Using ‘mini-placentas’, we can do just that, providing clues as to how and why pre-eclampsia occurs. This has helped us unpick some of the key processes that we should now focus on far more. It shows the power of basic science in helping us understand our fundamental biology, something that we hope will one day make a major difference to the health of mothers and their babies.”

The research was supported by Wellcome, the Royal Society, European Research Council and Medical Research Council.

Reference
Li, Q et al. Human uterine natural killer cells regulate differentiation of extravillous trophoblast early in pregnancy. Cell Stem Cell; 17 Jan 2024; DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2023.12.013

source: cam.ac.uk