March 23, 2023 – At least 80% of sites identified as being internationally important for biodiversity on land currently contain infrastructure − of which more than 75% contain roads. In the future, more sites that are important for biodiversity could contain powerplants, mines and oil and gas infrastructure. A study has found that infrastructure worldwide […]
University of Cambridge
Posted inEnviro
Protected areas saw dramatic spikes in fires during COVID lockdowns, study finds
The number of fires inside protected conservation areas across the island of Madagascar shot up dramatically when COVID-19 lockdowns led to the suspension of any on-site management for five months during 2020. The findings suggest that governments should consider keeping some staff in protected areas at all times as an “essential service”, even during periods […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Cognitive impairment from severe COVID-19 equivalent to 20 years of ageing, study finds
Cognitive impairment as a result of severe COVID-19 is similar to that sustained between 50 and 70 years of age and is the equivalent to losing 10 IQ points, say a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London. The findings, published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, emerge from the NIHR COVID-19 BioResource. The […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Two-meter COVID-19 rule is ‘arbitrary measurement’ of safety (VIDEO)
November 23, 2021 – A new study has shown that the airborne transmission of COVID-19 is highly random and suggests that the two-metre rule was a number chosen from a risk ‘continuum’, rather than any concrete measurement of safety. A team of engineers from the University of Cambridge used computer modelling to quantify how droplets […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Minor volcanic eruptions could ‘cascade’ into global catastrophe, experts warn
Researchers call for a shift in focus away from risks of “super-volcanic” eruptions and towards likelier scenarios of smaller eruptions in key global “pinch points” creating devastating domino effects. Currently, much of the thinking around risks posed by volcanoes follows a simple equation: the bigger the eruption, the worse it will be for society and […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Slamming political rivals may be the most effective way to go viral – revealing social media’s ‘perverse incentives’
Social media posts about the “political outgroup” – criticising or mocking those on the opposing side of an ideological divide – receive twice as many shares as posts that champion people or organisations from one’s own political tribe. This is according to a study led by University of Cambridge psychologists, who analysed over 2.7 million […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Psychological ‘signature’ for the extremist mind uncovered by Cambridge researchers
February 22, 2021 – A new study suggests that a particular mix of personality traits and types of unconscious cognition – the ways our brain takes in basic information – is a strong predictor for extremist views across a range of beliefs, including nationalism and religious fervour. These mental characteristics include poorer working memory and […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Climate change may have driven the emergence of SARS-CoV-2
February 5, 2021 – A new study published today in the journal Science of the Total Environment provides the first evidence of a mechanism by which climate change could have played a direct role in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. The study has revealed large-scale changes in the type of vegetation in […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Game ‘pre-bunks’ COVID-19 conspiracies as part of UK’s fight against fake news
October 12, 2020 – A new online game that puts players in the shoes of a purveyor of fake pandemic news is the latest tactic in efforts to tackle the deluge of coronavirus misinformation costing lives across the world. The Go Viral! game has been developed by the University of Cambridge’s Social Decision-Making Lab in collaboration with […]
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Desk-based jobs may offer protection against poor cognition in later life
People who work in jobs that require less physical activity – typically office and desk-based jobs – are at a lower risk of subsequent poor cognition than those who whose work is more physically active, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. Lack of physical activity and exercise are known risk factors for major […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Degraded soils mean tropical forests may never fully recover from logging
Dec. 17, 2019 – Continually logging and re-growing tropical forests to supply timber is reducing the levels of vital nutrients in the soil, which may limit future forest growth and recovery, a new study suggests. This raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of logging in the tropics. Trees of recovering tropical forests were found to […]
Posted inUS
Under a “business as usual” carbon emissions scenario, the U.S. would lose 10.5% of its GDP by 2100
Aug. 19, 2019 – Prevailing economic research anticipates the burden of climate change falling on hot or poor nations. Some predict that cooler or wealthier economies will be unaffected or even see benefits from higher temperatures. However, a new study co-authored by researchers from the University of Cambridge suggests that virtually all countries – whether […]
Posted inUS
Food and drinks industry uses non-profit organization to campaign against public health policies
June 3, 2019 – A new study shows how a non-profit research organisation has been deployed by its backers from major food and beverage corporations to push industry-favourable positions to policymakers and international bodies under the guise of neutral scientific endeavour. The study, published today in the journal Globalization and Health, analysed over 17,000 pages of emails […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Rapid melting of the world’s largest ice shelf linked to solar heat in the ocean
April 29, 2019 – An international team of scientists has found part of the world’s largest ice shelf is melting 10 times faster than the overall ice shelf average, due to solar heating of the surrounding ocean surface. In a study of Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf, which covers an area roughly the size of France, […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Household phenomenon observed by Leonardo da Vinci finally explained by Cambridge research
Aug. 8, 2018 – An everyday occurrence spotted when we turn on the tap to brush our teeth has baffled engineers for centuries – why does the water splay when it hits the sink before it heads down the plughole? Famous inventor and painter Leonardo da Vinci documented the phenomenon, now known as a hydraulic […]
Posted inLife
Fake news ‘vaccine’: Online game may ‘inoculate’ by simulating propaganda tactics
Feb. 19, 2018 – A new online game puts players in the shoes of an aspiring propagandist to give the public a taste of the techniques and motivations behind the spread of disinformation – potentially “inoculating” them against the influence of so-called fake news in the process. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have already […]
Posted inUS
Clean energy: Experts outline how governments can successfully invest before it’s too late
Dec. 6, 2017 – Governments need to give technical experts more autonomy and hold their nerve to provide more long-term stability when investing in clean energy, argue researchers in climate change and innovation policy in a new paper published today. Writing in the journal Nature, the authors from UK and US institutions have set out […]
Posted inLife
Pets are a child’s best friend, not their siblings
Jan. 30, 2017 – Children get more satisfaction from relationships with their pets than with their brothers or sisters, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. Children also appear to get on even better with their animal companions than with siblings. The research adds to increasing evidence that household pets may have a […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Bag-like sea creature was humans’ oldest known ancestor
Jan. 30, 2017 – Researchers have identified traces of what they believe is the earliest known prehistoric ancestor of humans — a microscopic, bag-like sea creature, which lived about 540 million years ago. Named Saccorhytus, after the sack-like features created by its elliptical body and large mouth, the species is new to science and was […]
Posted inUS
Psychological ‘vaccine’ could help immunize public against ‘fake news’ on climate change
Jan. 24, 2017 – New research finds that misinformation on climate change can psychologically cancel out the influence of accurate statements. However, if legitimate facts are delivered with an “inoculation” – a warning dose of misinformation – some of the positive influence is preserved. In medicine, vaccinating against a virus involves exposing a body to […]