Researchers found that females, on average, score higher than males on the widely used ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ Test, which measures ‘theory of mind’ (also known as ‘cognitive empathy’). This finding was observed across all ages and most countries.

The reseach, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), is the largest study of theory of mind to date.

A fundamental part of human social interaction and communication involves putting ourselves in other people’s shoes, to imagine another person’s thoughts and feelings. This is known as ‘theory of mind’ or ‘cognitive empathy’.

For decades, researchers have studied the development of theory of mind, from infancy to old age. One of the most widely used tests with which to study theory of mind is the ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ Test (or Eyes Test, for short), which asks participants to pick which word best describes what the person in the photo is thinking or feeling, just by viewing photos of the eye region of the face.

The Eyes Test was first developed in 1997 by Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen and his research team at Cambridge, and was revised in 2001, and has become a well-established assessment of theory of mind. It is listed as one of two recommended tests for measuring individual differences in ‘Understanding Mental States’ by the National Institute of Mental Health in the US.

Over the decades, many independent research studies have found that females on average score higher than males on theory of mind tests. However, most of these studies were limited to relatively small samples, without much diversity in terms of geography, culture, and/or age. To address these shortcomings, a team of multidisciplinary researchers led by Cambridge University and with collaborators in Bar-Ilan, Harvard, Washington, and Haifa Universities, as well as IMT Lucca, has merged large samples from different online platforms to analyse data from 305,726 participants across 57 countries.

The results showed that across the 57 countries, females on average scored significantly higher than males (in 36 countries), or similar to males (in 21 countries), on the Eyes Test. Importantly, there was no country where males on average scored significantly higher than females on the Eyes Test. The on-average sex difference was seen across the lifespan, from 16 to 70 years of age. The team also confirmed this on-average sex difference in three independent datasets and on non-English versions of the Eyes Test, spanning eight languages.

Dr David M. Greenberg, the lead scientist on the study, a Zuckerman Scholar at Bar-Ilan and Honorary Research Associate at Cambridge, said: “Our results provide some of the first evidence that the well-known phenomenon – that females are on average more empathic than males – is present in wide range of countries across the globe. It’s only by using very large data sets that we can say this with confidence.”

Although this study cannot discern the cause of this on-average sex difference, the authors discuss on the basis of prior research that this may be the result of both biological and social factors.

Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University, and senior author on the study, said: “Studies of on-average sex differences say nothing about an individual’s mind or aptitudes, since an individual may be typical or atypical for their sex. The Eyes Test reveals that many individuals struggle to read facial expressions, for a variety of reasons. Support should be available for those who seek it.”

The researchers also showed that, in addition to sex, ‘D-scores’ (the difference between a person’s drive to systemize and their drive to empathize) are a significant negative predictor of scores on the Eyes Test. This adds to an earlier study led by Greenberg in 2018 of over 650,000 participants, also published in PNAS, which found that D-scores accounted for 19 times more of the variance in autistic traits than did sex or indeed any other demographic variable. Thus, D-scores appear to play a more important role than sex in aspects of human cognition.

Dr Carrie Allison, Director of Applied Research at the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University, and a member of the team, said: “This study clearly demonstrates a largely consistent sex difference across countries, languages, and ages. This raises new questions for future research about the social and biological factors that may contribute to the observed on-average sex difference in cognitive empathy.”

Take the ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ Test

Reference
Greenberg, D. M., Warrier, V., Abu-Akel, A., Allison, C., Gajos, K. Z., Reinecke, K., Rentfrow, P. J., Radecki, M. A., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2022). Sex and age differences in ‘theory of mind’ across 57 countries using the English version of the ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ Test. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; 26 Dec 2022; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2022385119

Economist Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta receives an elevated knighthood. Sir Partha, the Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics, is made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for services to economics and the natural environment.

Another economist, Dr Graham Gudgin, of the Centre for Business Research, is awarded a CBE for services to economic development in Northern Ireland. He said: "I am delighted to receive this honour in recognition of my time in Belfast running the Northern Ireland Economic Research Centre, as Special Advisor to First Minister, David Trimble, and working with Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, on tax reform for Northern Ireland. It was an honour to be able to use my experience as a member of the Cambridge Economic Policy Group to advance economic ideas and practice in Northern Ireland."

Professor Krishna Chatterjee, Professor of Endocrinology at the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, is also awarded a CBE for services to people with endocrine disorders. He said: “I am delighted that my contributions to endocrine disorders have been honoured in this way. This also represents the efforts of many scientists and clinical colleagues in Cambridge, and internationally, with whom I have worked over the years. Together with the patients participating in our research, we strive to advance knowledge and outcomes in rare hormone disorders."

An MBE is awarded to Elizabeth Blane, a laboratory manager for services to pathogen genome sequencing, and Natural Sciences undergraduate, Dara McAnulty, receives the British Empire Medal for services to nature and the autistic community in his native Northern Ireland. At 18, Dara, a student at Queens' College, is the youngest person to feature in this year's list. His 'Diary of a Young Naturalist' won the 2020 Wainwright Prize for Nature Conservation.

The University's Acting Vice-Chancellor, Dr Anthony Freeling, congratulated those being honoured: "How wonderful to see people so closely linked to the Collegiate University being recognised in the New Year Honours list. It’s gratifying to see dedicated service acknowledged and rewarded in this way. My warmest congratulations to those colleagues and friends of the University who have been honoured for their commitment and their achievements." 

Insulating the lofts and cavity walls of existing UK housing stock only reduces gas consumption for the first year or two, with all energy savings vanishing by the fourth year after a retrofit, according to research from policy experts at the University of Cambridge.

The latest study is the first to track in detail household gas use across England and Wales for at least five years both before and after insulation installation.

Researchers analysed gas consumption patterns of more than 55,000 dwellings over twelve years (2005-2017), and found that cavity wall insulation led to an average 7% drop in gas during the first year. This shrank to 2.7% in the second, and by the fourth year, any energy savings were negligible.   

Loft insulation was half as effective as cavity wall, with an initial fall in gas consumption of around 4% on average, dropping to 1.8% after one year and becoming insignificant by the second year. For households with conservatories*, any gains in energy efficiency disappeared after the first year.  

The findings suggests that when it comes to home insulation there may be a significant 'rebound effect': any savings through energy efficiency get cancelled out by a steady increase in energy use.**

The UK Treasury recently announced some £6 billion in funding to reduce the energy consumption of buildings and industry by 15% over the next eight years, with a major focus on insulation retrofits across the residential sector. 

Researchers behind the study, published in the journal Energy Economics, say it is extremely difficult to identify specific causes of the 'rebound effect' they found, but behaviours such as turning up the heating, opening windows in stuffy rooms or building extensions may all contribute.

They argue that good insulation is vital, but any drive to insulate UK homes should be combined with investment in heat pump installation and campaigns to encourage behaviour change if 2030 targets for energy independence are to be met.   

To capture the overall effect of insulating homes, the researchers accounted for various factors, including the age and size of buildings, the weather and gas prices.

However, they did find that gas price influenced energy use – so the soaring cost of gas may mean greater energy reductions from insulation now than during the study period. The research also found household gas consumption fluctuated less after both loft and cavity wall insulation.     

“The recent spotlight on increasing the energy efficiency in UK buildings is both welcome and long overdue, and there are very real benefits to households from good insulation, not least in terms of health and comfort,” said study co-author Prof Laura Diaz Anadon, Director of the Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance.

“However, home insulation alone is not a magic bullet. High gas prices will reduce the rebound effect in the short term, as homeowners have the need to keep costs down at the front of their minds. In the long term, simply funding more of the same insulation roll-out to meet the UK’s carbon reduction and energy security targets may not move the dial as much as is hoped.”

Anadon and her Cambridge co-author Dr Cristina Penasco say that insulating old and draughty housing across the UK is a vital step, but argue that not encouraging homeowners to “fully degasify heating” while going through the disruption of a retrofit is a missed opportunity.

Heat pumps, which extract warmth from outside to heat internal radiators, are highly efficient and negate the need for gas boilers. Recent research suggests the UK lags behind many other European countries on heat pump sales, and the UK Committee on Climate Change has also highlighted the need to speed up heat pump deployment.

“When trying to get middle income households to conduct energy renovations, as the government are currently doing, it makes sense to further encourage heat pump installation at the same time," said Penasco, the study’s first author from Cambridge’s Department of Politics and International Studies.

“This could be through incentives such as more generous and focused grant schemes, as well as obligations for boiler manufacturers and additional investments in skills for installers.”

“We found that energy efficiency retrofits are often combined with home improvements that actually increase consumption, such as extensions.”*** Scotland currently offers grants and interest free loans for heat pumps, while the rest of the UK has reduced VAT in the form of a tax rebate.

Residential housing accounted for almost a third (29.5%) of the UK’s total energy consumption in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency. In the UK, 85% of households use gas as their main heating source. 

The study used data collected by the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, and compared energy use in individual households before and after insulation, as well as comparing households that did have efficiency renovations with those that did not.

Researchers found that, compared to wealthier areas, households in more deprived areas had half the reductions in gas use: an average of 3% during the first and second year after insulation. Neighbourhoods where deprivation was highest had the lowest reduction in gas consumption.

“Households in more deprived areas often have to limit energy use, so any savings created by home insulation can quickly get redirected into keeping a house warmer for longer,” said Penasco

“This is a good outcome if policies are aimed at reducing fuel poverty in low-income households, but will not help with the UK’s emissions reductions targets or reliance on gas.” In fact, when it came to household income, those in the bottom 20% increased gas consumption straight after insulation.  

“National caps on gas prices will not incentivise people to conserve energy,” said Penasco, who argues that energy reduction targets could be set for individual households, and associated with waivers on energy bills in the long run, particularly for low income households.

Added Anadon: “People do not deliberately squander energy savings. There is a need for education to lessen the rebound effect we have documented. Media appearances by ministers to discuss flow temperatures of boilers are positive signs that parts of the government are starting to think about this.”

*Conservatories are one of the most popular home improvements in the UK. Data from 2011 suggests that almost 20% of households in England had some form of conservatory, and 80% of those had some form of heating.

** The 'rebound effect' is a fundamental concept in economics, and was first identified by William Jevons in 1865, when he observed that more efficient steam engines increased rather than reduced coal use, as engines were put into more widespread use.  

*** Previous research suggests that extensions in the UK increase household energy consumption by 16% on average.   

The trial will compare proton beam therapy – which can target radiotherapy beams more precisely – with standard radiotherapy for patients who are at greater risk of long-term heart problems after radiotherapy treatment. It will help to determine whether proton beam therapy can help to deliver adequate doses of radiotherapy to breast tissue, while minimising off-target radiation delivered to the heart.

The trial will enrol 192 people across a planned 22 sites in the UK. People allocated to receive proton beam therapy will be treated at either The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester or University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with accommodation provided for those who are travelling far from home.

The PARABLE trial is being led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, Institute of Cancer Research, London, and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and managed by the Cancer Research UK-funded Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR). It is funded by a National Institute for Health and Care Research and Medical Research Council partnership. The NHS proton centres – UCLH and The Christie – also provided expert guidance on the trial protocol development.

Every year in the UK over 30,000 people with breast cancer receive radiotherapy following surgery as part of their treatment. Standard breast cancer radiotherapy uses high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. As well as lowering the risk of cancer coming back, radiotherapy can increase survival rates.

Standard breast cancer radiotherapy is very effective for the vast majority of people and the benefits far outweigh small side effects. However, there can be a very small risk of radiotherapy leading to heart problems much later in life (less than one per cent of people treated). The risk of heart problems later in life due to breast radiotherapy maybe be higher than one per cent for a very small group of people. This is usually because their breast tissue and the lymph nodes which require radiotherapy treatment are located close to the heart, and/or because they have an increased underlying risk of developing heart problems later in life.

Professor Charlotte Coles, Professor of Breast Cancer Clinical Oncology at the University of Cambridge, Consultant Oncologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and Chief Investigator of the PARABLE trial, said: “Although only a very small group of people are affected by a higher risk of heart problems later in life, it can still be a serious issue. Most patients treated with radiotherapy have decades of healthy life ahead of them and we need to do everything we can to avoid possible future heart problems related to treatment.

“Standard breast radiotherapy is really effective for most people with very few side effects, but there is a small group of patients for whom proton beam therapy may be a better option.”

Proton beam therapy uses charged particles instead of X-rays to target tumours more precisely. Researchers hope it will allow doctors to deliver the required dose of radiotherapy where it’s needed, while minimising the dose of radiation delivered to the heart, and without increasing the risk of early side effects such as skin redness and changes in breast appearance.

The average radiotherapy dose that the heart is likely to receive from the radiotherapy planning scan can be estimated and together with age and other medical history, this information is used to predict the potential small lifetime risk of heart problems.

Professor Judith Bliss, Director of the Cancer Research UK-funded Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, which is managing the PARABLE trial, said: “The PARABLE trial will measure average dose of radiotherapy delivered to the heart to predict long-term heart damage. Using this early predictor will allow us to uncover the potential benefits of using proton beam therapy for long term heart health in years rather than decades.”

People who are predicted to have at least a two per cent or more potential lifetime risk of heart problems from radiotherapy will be invited to take part.  Around 500 out of every 30,000 people who receive radiotherapy for breast cancer fall into this category. People who enter the trial will either receive standard radiotherapy or proton beam therapy.

The trial will measure radiation dose delivered to the heart as an early predictor of possible heart problems, to avoid the need for lengthy follow up for many years before results are available.

People in the trial will also record their experiences using questionnaires so that researchers can assess side-effects including skin reactions, breast pain and swelling, and other symptoms which are particularly important for patients.

Proton beam therapy has been used in other countries to treat breast cancer, but numbers of participants in these trials are small and there have been no reported trials that directly compare proton beam therapy with standard radiotherapy.

The researchers stress the importance of evaluating the benefits of proton beam therapy – which is expensive and only available in certain locations across the UK – thoroughly in a clinical trial.

Dr Anna Kirby, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Breast Cancer Radiotherapy Team Lead at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Radiotherapy Lead for the PARABLE trial, said: “We have already learnt a huge amount about how to optimise and standardise current breast cancer radiotherapy practices alongside optimising proton beam therapy approaches. We hope that the PARABLE trial will help us to further personalise radiotherapy treatments and ensure that people can access the radiotherapy approach that is best for them, regardless of where they live.

Adapted from a press release from The Institute of Cancer Research

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Institute for Advanced Study have developed a technique, which uses observations of these ‘hurricanes’ by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimetre Array (ALMA) to place some limits on the mass and age of planets in a young star system.

Pancake-like clouds of gases, dust and ice surrounding young stars – known as protoplanetary discs - are where the process of planet formation begins. Through a process known as core accretion, gravity causes particles in the disc to stick to each other, eventually forming larger solid bodies such as asteroids or planets. As young planets form, they start to carve gaps in the protoplanetary disc, like grooves on a vinyl record.

Even a relatively small planet – as small as one-tenth the mass of Jupiter according to some recent calculations – may be capable of creating such gaps. As these ‘super-Neptune’ planets can orbit their star at a distance greater than Pluto orbits the Sun, traditional methods of exoplanet detection cannot be used.

In addition to the grooves, observations from ALMA have shown other distinct structures in protoplanetary discs, such as banana- or peanut-shaped arcs and clumps. It had been thought that at least some of these structures were also driven by planets.

“Something must be causing these structures to form,” said lead author Professor Roman Rafikov from Cambridge’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. “One of the possible mechanisms for producing these structures – and certainly the most intriguing one – is that dust particles that we see as arcs and clumps are concentrated in the centres of fluid vortices: essentially little hurricanes that can be triggered by a particular instability at the edges of the gaps carved in protoplanetary discs by planets.”

Working with his PhD student Nicolas Cimerman, Rafikov used this interpretation to develop a method to constrain a planet’s mass or age if a vortex is observed in a protoplanetary disc. Their results have been accepted for publication in two separate papers in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

“It’s extremely difficult to study smaller planets that are far away from their star by directly imaging them: it would be like trying to spot a firefly in front of a lighthouse,” said Rafikov. “We need other, different methods to learn about these planets.”

To develop their method, the two researchers first theoretically calculated the length of time it would take for a vortex to be produced in the disc by a planet. They then used these calculations to constrain the properties of planets in discs with vortices, basically setting lower limits on the planet’s mass or age. They call these techniques ‘vortex weighing’ and ‘vortex dating’ of planets.

When a growing planet becomes massive enough, it starts pushing material from the disc away, creating the tell-tale gap in the disc. When this happens, material on the outside of the gap becomes denser than material on the inside of the gap. As the gap gets deeper and the differences in density become large, an instability can be triggered. This instability perturbs the disc and can eventually produce a vortex.

“Over time, multiple vortices can merge together, evolving into one big structure that looks like the arcs we’ve observed with ALMA,” said Cimerman. Since the vortices need time to form, the researchers say their method is like a clock that can help determine the mass and age of the planet.

“More massive planets produce vortices earlier in their development due to their stronger gravity, so we can use the vortices to place some constraints on the mass of the planet, even if we can’t see the planet directly,” said Rafikov.

Using various data points such as spectra, luminosity and motion, astronomers can determine the approximate age of a star. With this information, the Cambridge researchers calculated the lowest possible mass of a planet that could have been in orbit around the star since the protoplanetary disc formed and was able to produce a vortex that could be seen by ALMA. This helped them put a lower limit on the mass of the planet without observing it directly.

By applying this technique to several known protoplanetary discs with prominent arcs, suggestive of vortices, the researchers found that the putative planets creating these vortices must have masses of at least several tens of Earth masses, in the super-Neptune range.

“In my daily work, I often focus on the technical aspects of performing the simulations,” said Cimerman. “It’s exciting when things come together and we can use our theoretical findings to learn something about real systems.”

“Our constraints can be combined with the limits provided by other methods to improve our understanding of planetary characteristics and planet formation pathways in these systems,” said Rafikov. “By studying planet formation in other star systems, we may learn more about how our own Solar System evolved.”

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

References:
Roman R. Rafikov and Nicolas P. Cimerman. ‘Vortex weighing and dating of planets in protoplanetary discs.’ Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2022). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stac3692 or DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2301.01789

Nicolas P. Cimerman and Roman R. Rafikov. ‘Emergence of vortices at the edges of planet-driven gaps in protoplanetary discs.’ Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2022). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stac3507

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, developed the system, which can convert two waste streams into two chemical products at the same time – the first time this has been achieved in a solar-powered reactor.

The reactor converts carbon dioxide (CO2) and plastics into different products that are useful in a range of industries. In tests, CO2 was converted into syngas, a key building block for sustainable liquid fuels, and plastic bottles were converted into glycolic acid, which is widely used in the cosmetics industry. The system can easily be tuned to produce different products by changing the type of catalyst used in the reactor.

Converting plastics and greenhouse gases – two of the biggest threats facing the natural world – into useful and valuable products using solar energy is an important step in the transition to a more sustainable, circular economy. The results are reported in the journal Nature Synthesis.

“Converting waste into something useful using solar energy is a major goal of our research,” said Professor Erwin Reisner from the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, the paper’s senior author. “Plastic pollution is a huge problem worldwide, and often, many of the plastics we throw into recycling bins are incinerated or end up in landfill.”

Reisner also leads the Cambridge Circular Plastics Centre (CirPlas), which aims to eliminate plastic waste by combining blue-sky thinking with practical measures.

Other solar-powered ‘recycling’ technologies hold promise for addressing plastic pollution and for reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but to date, they have not been combined in a single process.

“A solar-driven technology that could help to address plastic pollution and greenhouse gases at the same time could be a game-changer in the development of a circular economy,” said Subhajit Bhattacharjee, the paper’s co-first author.

“We also need something that’s tuneable, so that you can easily make changes depending on the final product you want,” said co-first author Dr Motiar Rahaman.

The researchers developed an integrated reactor with two separate compartments: one for plastic, and one for greenhouse gases. The reactor uses a light absorber based on perovskite – a promising alternative to silicon for next-generation solar cells.

The team designed different catalysts, which were integrated into the light absorber. By changing the catalyst, the researchers could then change the end product. Tests of the reactor under normal temperature and pressure conditions showed that the reactor could efficiently convert PET plastic bottles and CO2 into different carbon-based fuels such as CO, syngas or formate, in addition to glycolic acid. The Cambridge-developed reactor produced these products at a rate that is also much higher than conventional photocatalytic CO2 reduction processes.

“Generally, CO2 conversion requires a lot of energy, but with our system, basically you just shine a light at it, and it starts converting harmful products into something useful and sustainable,” said Rahaman. “Prior to this system, we didn’t have anything that could make high-value products selectively and efficiently.”

“What’s so special about this system is the versatility and tuneability – we’re making fairly simple carbon-based molecules right now, but in future, we could be able to tune the system to make far more complex products, just by changing the catalyst,” said Bhattacharjee.

Reisner recently received new funding from the European Research Council to help the development of their solar-powered reactor. Over the next five years, they hope to further develop the reactor to produce more complex molecules. The researchers say that similar techniques could someday be used to develop an entirely solar-powered recycling plant.

“Developing a circular economy, where we make useful things from waste instead of throwing it into landfill, is vital if we’re going to meaningfully address the climate crisis and protect the natural world,” said Reisner. “And powering these solutions using the Sun means that we’re doing it cleanly and sustainably.”

The research was supported in part by the European Union, the European Research Council, the Cambridge Trust, Hermann and Marianne Straniak Stiftung, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Erwin Reisner is a Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge.

Reference:
Subhajit Bhattacharjee, Motiar Rahaman et al. ‘Photoelectrochemical CO2-to-fuel conversion with simultaneous plastic reforming.’ Nature Synthesis (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s44160-022-00196-0

Around 415 million people worldwide are estimated to be living with type 2 diabetes, which costs around $760 billion in annual global health expenditure. According to Diabetes UK, in the UK alone, more than 4.9million people have diabetes, of whom 90% have type 2 diabetes, and this is estimated to cost the NHS £10bn per year.

Type 2 diabetes causes levels of glucose – blood sugar – to become too high. Ordinarily, blood sugar levels are controlled by the release of insulin, but in type 2 diabetes insulin production is disrupted. Over time, this can cause serious problems including eye, kidney and nerve damage and heart disease.

The disease is usually managed through a combination of lifestyle changes – improved diet and more exercise, for example – and medication, with the aim of keeping glucose levels low.

Researchers from the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge have developed an artificial pancreas that can help maintain healthy glucose levels. The device combines an off-the-shelf glucose monitor and insulin pump with an app developed by the team, known as CamAPS HX. This app is run by an algorithm that predicts how much insulin is required to maintain glucose levels in the target range.

The researchers have previously shown that an artificial pancreas run by a similar algorithm is effective for patients living with type 1 diabetes, from adults through to very young children. They have also successfully trialled the device in patients with type 2 diabetes who require kidney dialysis.

Today, in Nature Medicine, the team report the first trial of the device in a wider population living with type 2 diabetes (not requiring kidney dialysis). Unlike the artificial pancreas used for type 1 diabetes, this new version is a fully closed loop system – whereas patients with type 1 diabetes need to tell their artificial pancreas that they are about to eat to allow adjustment of insulin, for example, with this version they can leave the device to function entirely automatically.

The researchers recruited 26 patients from the Wolfson Diabetes and Endocrine Clinic at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and a local group of GP surgeries. Patients were randomly allocated to one of two groups – the first group would trial the artificial pancreas for eight weeks and then switch to the standard therapy of multiple daily insulin injections; the second group would take this control therapy first and then switch to the artificial pancreas after eight weeks.

The team used several measures to assess how effectively the artificial pancreas worked. The first was the proportion of time that patients spent with their glucose levels within a target range of between 3.9 and 10.0mmol/L. On average, patients using the artificial pancreas spent two-thirds (66%) of their time within the target range – double that while on the control (32%).

A second measure was the proportion of time spent with glucose levels above 10.0mmol/L. Over time, high glucose levels raise the risk of potentially serious complications. Patients taking the control therapy spent two-thirds (67%) of their time with high glucose levels – this was halved to 33% when using the artificial pancreas.

Average glucose levels fell – from 12.6mmol/L when taking the control therapy to 9.2mmol/L while using the artificial pancreas.

The app also reduced levels of a molecule known as glycated haemoglobin, or HbA1c. Glycated haemoglobin develops when haemoglobin, a protein within red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body, joins with glucose in the blood, becoming ‘glycated’. By measuring HbA1c, clinicians are able to get an overall picture of what a person's average blood sugar levels have been over a period of weeks or months. For people with diabetes, the higher the HbA1c, the greater the risk of developing diabetes-related complications. After the control therapy, average HbA1c levels were 8.7%, while after using the artificial pancreas they were 7.3%. 

No patients experienced dangerously-low blood sugar levels (hypoglycaemia) during the study. One patient was admitted to hospital while using the artificial pancreas, due to an abscess at the site of the pump cannula.

Dr Charlotte Boughton from the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge, who co-led the study, said: “Many people with type 2 diabetes struggle to manage their blood sugar levels using the currently available treatments, such as insulin injections. The artificial pancreas can provide a safe and effective approach to help them, and the technology is simple to use and can be implemented safely at home.”

Dr Aideen Daly, also from the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, said: “One of the barriers to widespread use of insulin therapy has been concern over the risk of severe ‘hypos’ – dangerously low blood sugar levels. But we found that no patients on our trial experienced these and patients spent very little time with blood sugar levels lower than the target levels.”

Feedback from participants suggested that participants were happy to have their glucose levels controlled automatically by the system, and nine out of ten (89%) reported spending less time managing their diabetes overall. Users highlighted the elimination of the need for injections or fingerprick testing, and increased confidence in managing blood glucose as key benefits. Downsides included increased anxiety about the risk of hypoglycaemia, which the researchers say may reflect increased awareness and monitoring of glucose levels, and practical annoyances with wearing of devices.

The team now plan to carry out a much larger multicentre study to build on their findings and have submitted the device for regulatory approval with a view to making it commercially available for outpatients with type 2 diabetes.

The research was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

Reference
Daly, AB, Boughton, CK, et al. Fully automated closed-loop insulin delivery in adults with type 2 diabetes: an open-label, single-centre randomised crossover trial. Nat Med; 11 Jan 2023; DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-02144-z

The test uses DNA ‘nanobait’ to detect the most common respiratory viruses – including influenza, rhinovirus, RSV and COVID-19 – at the same time. In comparison, PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, while highly specific and highly accurate, can only test for a single virus at a time and take several hours to return a result.

While many common respiratory viruses have similar symptoms, they require different treatments. By testing for multiple viruses at once, the researchers say their test will ensure patients get the right treatment quickly and could also reduce the unwarranted use of antibiotics.

In addition, the tests can be used in any setting, and can be easily modified to detect different bacteria and viruses, including potential new variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. The results are reported in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

The winter cold, flu and RSV season has arrived in the northern hemisphere, and healthcare workers must make quick decisions about treatment when patients show up in their hospital or clinic.

“Many respiratory viruses have similar symptoms but require different treatments: we wanted to see if we could search for multiple viruses in parallel,” said Filip Bošković from Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory, the paper’s first author. “According to the World Health Organization, respiratory viruses are the cause of death for 20% of children who die under the age of five. If you could come up with a test that could detect multiple viruses quickly and accurately, it could make a huge difference.”

For Bošković, the research is also personal: as a young child, he was in hospital for almost a month with a high fever. Doctors could not figure out the cause of his illness until a PCR machine became available.

“Good diagnostics are the key to good treatments,” said Bošković, who is a PhD student at St John’s College, Cambridge. “People show up at hospital in need of treatment and they might be carrying multiple different viruses, but unless you can discriminate between different viruses, there is a risk patients could receive incorrect treatment.”

PCR tests are powerful, sensitive and accurate, but they require a piece of genome to be copied millions of times, which takes several hours.

The Cambridge researchers wanted to develop a test that uses RNA to detect viruses directly, without the need to copy the genome, but with high enough sensitivity to be useful in a healthcare setting.

“For patients, we know that rapid diagnosis improves their outcome, so being able to detect the infectious agent quickly could save their life,” said co-author Professor Stephen Baker, from the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease. “For healthcare workers, such a test could be used anywhere, in the UK or in any low- or middle-income setting, which helps ensure patients get the correct treatment quickly and reduce the use of unwarranted antibiotics.”

The researchers based their test on structures built from double strands of DNA with overhanging single strands. These single strands are the ‘bait’: they are programmed to ‘fish’ for specific regions in the RNA of target viruses. The nanobaits are then passed through very tiny holes called nanopores. Nanopore sensing is like a ticker tape reader that transforms molecular structures into digital information in milliseconds. The structure of each nanobait reveals the target virus or its variant.

The researchers showed that the test can easily be reprogrammed to discriminate between viral variants, including variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. The approach enables near 100% specificity due to the precision of the programmable nanobait structures.

“This work elegantly uses new technology to solve multiple current limitations in one go,” said Baker. “One of the things we struggle with most is the rapid and accurate identification of the organisms causing the infection. This technology is a potential game-changer; a rapid, low-cost diagnostic platform that is simple and can be used anywhere on any sample.”

A patent on the technology has been filed by Cambridge Enterprise, the University’s commercialisation arm, and co-author Professor Ulrich Keyser has co-founded a company, Cambridge Nucleomics, focused on RNA detection with single-molecule precision.

“Nanobait is based on DNA nanotechnology and will allow for many more exciting applications in the future,” said Keyser, who is based at the Cavendish Laboratory. “For commercial applications and roll-out to the public we will have to convert our nanopore platform into a hand-held device.”

“Bringing together researchers from medicine, physics, engineering and chemistry helped us come up with a truly meaningful solution to a difficult problem,” said Bošković, who received a 2022 PhD award from Cambridge Society for Applied Research for this work.

The research was supported in part by the European Research Council, the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability, St John’s College, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Wellcome, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre.

Reference:
Filip Bošković et al. ‘Simultaneous identification of viruses and viral variants with programmable DNA nanobait.’ Nature Nanotechnology (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41565-022-01287-x

When the eCO2EP: A chemical energy storage technology project started in 2018, the objective was to develop ways of converting carbon dioxide emitted as part of industrial processes into useful compounds, a process known as electrochemical CO2 reduction (eCO2R)

While eCO2R is not a new technique, the challenge has always been the inability to control the end products. Now, researchers from the University of Cambridge have outlined how carbon isotopes can be used to trace intermediates during the process, which will allow scientists to create more selective catalysts, control product selectivity, and promote eCO2R as a more promising production method for chemicals and fuels in the low-carbon economy. Their results are reported in the journal Nature Catalysis.

The project was led by Professor Alexei Lapkin, from Cambridge’s Centre for Advanced Research and Education in Singapore (CARES Ltd) and Professor Joel Ager, from the Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS Ltd). Both organisations are part of the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) funded by Singapore’s National Research Foundation.

In the 1950s, Berkeley’s Melvin Calvin identified the elementary steps used in nature to fix carbon dioxide in photosynthesis. Calvin and his colleagues used a radioactive form of carbon as a tracer to learn the order in which intermediates appeared in the cycle now named after him, work which won him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1961.

The eCO2EP team found that with a sensitive enough mass spectrometer, they could use the small differences in reaction rates associated with the two stable isotopes of carbon, carbon-12 and carbon-13, to perform similar types of analyses.

First, a mixture of products such as methanol and ethylene were generated by a prototype reactor that was built to operate under industrial conditions. To detect both major and minor products in real time as the operating conditions were changed, high-sensitivity mass spectrometry was used.  

Since high-sensitivity mass spectrometry is more commonly used in biological and atmospheric sciences, co-authors Dr Mikhail Kovalev and Dr Hangjuan Ren adapted the technique to their prototype system. They developed a method to directly sample the reaction environment with high sensitivity and time response.

The researchers used the difference in reaction rates of carbon-12 and carbon-13 to group a product such as ethanol and its major intermediates sharing the same pathway, to deduce key relationships in the chemical network.

The researchers found that there are substantial differences in the mechanisms at work in smaller reactors versus larger reactors, a finding which will enable them to better control product selectivity.

The team also discovered that the reaction used less of the heavier carbon-13 isotope than carbon-12. This difference in usage was found to be five times greater than that observed in natural photosynthesis, where carbon-13 is fixed at a slower rate than carbon-12. This is inspiring efforts in Professor Ager’s lab to better understand fundamental physics and the chemical origins of this large and unanticipated effect. An international patent application has also been filed.

“The set-up of the project within CREATE Campus allowed Joel and I to create an environment of creativity and ambition, to enable the researchers to excel and to target the really complex and interesting problems,” said Lapkin. “The monitoring of multiple species in such a complex reaction is, by itself, a significant breakthrough by the team, but the ability to further dig into the mechanism by exploring the isotope enrichment effect has made all the difference.”

“This work required an interdisciplinary approach drawing on expertise from both Cambridge and Berkeley,” said Ager. “CREATE campus provided an ideal environment to realise this collaborative research with a skilled and motivated team.”

The eCO2EP project was funded by the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme.

Reference:
Hangjuan Ren et al. ‘Operando proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry of carbon dioxide reduction electrocatalysis.’ Nature Catalysis (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41929-022-00891-3.

Adapted from a story posted on the CARES website. 

According to the NHS, more than 8.3 million patients in England received an antidepressant drug in 2021/22. A widely-used class of antidepressants, particularly for persistent or severe cases, is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These drugs target serotonin, a chemical that carries messages between nerve cells in the brain and has been dubbed the ‘pleasure chemical’.

One of the widely-reported side effects of SSRIs is ‘blunting’, where patients report feeling emotionally dull and no longer finding things as pleasurable as they used to. Between 40-60% of patients taking SSRIs are believed to experience this side effect.

To date, most studies of SSRIs have only examined their short term use, but, for clinical use in depression these drugs are taken chronically, over a longer period of time. A team led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen, sought to address this by recruiting healthy volunteers and administering escitalopram, an SSRI known to be one of the best-tolerated, over several weeks and assessing the impact the drug had on their performance on a suite of cognitive tests.

In total, 66 volunteers took part in the experiment, 32 of whom were given escitalopram while the other 34 were given a placebo. Volunteers took the drug or placebo for at least 21 days and completed a comprehensive set of self-report questionnaires and were given a series of tests to assess cognitive functions including learning, inhibition, executive function, reinforcement behaviour, and decision-making.

The results of the study are published today in Neuropsychopharmacology.

The team found no significant group differences when it came to ‘cold’ cognition – such as attention and memory. There were no differences in most tests of ‘hot’ cognition – cognitive functions that involve our emotions.

However, the key novel finding was that there was reduced reinforcement sensitivity on two tasks for the escitalopram group compared to those on placebo. Reinforcement learning is how we learn from feedback from our actions and environment.

In order to assess reinforcement sensitivity, the researchers used a ‘probabilistic reversal test’. In this task, a participant would typically be shown two stimuli, A and B. If they chose A, then four out of five times, they would receive a reward; if they chose B, they would only receive a reward one time out of five. Volunteers would not be told this rule, but would have to learn it themselves, and at some point in the experiment, the probabilities would switch and participants would need to learn the new rule.

The team found that participants taking escitalopram were less likely to use the positive and negative feedback to guide their learning of the task compared with participants on placebo. This suggests that the drug affected their sensitivity to the rewards and their ability to respond accordingly.

The finding may also explain the one difference the team found in the self-reported questionnaires, that volunteers taking escitalopram had more trouble reaching orgasm when having sex, a side effect often reported by patients.

Professor Barbara Sahakian, senior author, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow at Clare Hall, said: “Emotional blunting is a common side effect of SSRI antidepressants. In a way, this may be in part how they work – they take away some of the emotional pain that people who experience depression feel, but, unfortunately, it seems that they also take away some of the enjoyment. From our study, we can now see that this is because they become less sensitive to rewards, which provide important feedback.”

Dr Christelle Langley, joint first author also from the Department of Psychiatry, added: “Our findings provide important evidence for the role of serotonin in reinforcement learning. We are following this work up with a study examining neuroimaging data to understand how escitalopram affects the brain during reward learning.”

The research was funded by the Lundbeck Foundation.

Reference
Langley, C, Armand, S, et al. Chronic escitalopram in healthy volunteers has specific effects on reinforcement sensitivity: A double-blind, placebo-controlled semi-randomised study. Neuropsychopharmacology; 23 Jan 2023; DOI: 10.1038/s41386-022-01523-x

In a paper published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, University of Cambridge researchers have outlined a new DNA sequencing method that can detect where and how small molecule drugs interact with the targeted genome.

“Understanding how drugs work in the body is essential to creating better, more effective therapies,” said co-first author Dr Zutao Yu from the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry. “But when a therapeutic drug enters a cancer cell with a genome that has three billion bases, it’s like entering a black box.”

The powerful method, called Chem-map, lifts the veil of this genomic black box by enabling researchers to detect where small molecule drugs interact with their targets on the DNA genome.

Each year, millions of cancer patients receive treatment with genome-targeting drugs, such as doxorubicin. But despite decades of clinical use and research, the molecular mode of action with the genome is still not well-understood.

“Lots of life-saving drugs directly interact with DNA to treat diseases such as cancer,” said co-first author Dr Jochen Spiegel. “Our new method can precisely map where drugs bind to the genome, which will help us to develop better drugs in the future.”

Chem-map allows researchers to conduct in situ mapping of small molecule-genome interactions with unprecedented precision, by using a strategy called small-molecule-directed transposase Tn5 tagmentation. This detects the binding site in the genome where a small molecule binds to genomic DNA or DNA-associated proteins.

In the study, the researchers used Chem-map to determine the direct binding sites in human leukaemia cells of the widely used anticancer drug doxorubicin. The technique also showed how the combined therapy of using doxorubicin on cells already exposed to the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor tucidinostat could have a potential clinical advantage.

The technique was also used to map the binding sites of certain molecules on DNA G-quadruplexes, known as G4s. G4s are four-stranded secondary structures that have been implicated in gene regulation, and could be possible targets for future anti-cancer treatments.

“I am so proud that we have been able to solve this longstanding problem – we have established a highly efficient approach which will open many paths for new research,” said Yu.

Professor Sir Shankar Balasubramanian, who led the research, said: “Chem-map is a powerful new method to detect the site in the genome where a small molecule binds to DNA or DNA-associated proteins. It provides enormous insights on how some drug therapies interact with the human genome, and makes it easier to develop more effective and safer drug therapies.”

Reference:
Zutao Yu, Jochen Spiegel et al. 'Chem-map profiles drug binding to chromatin in cells.' Nature Biotechnology (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-022-01636-0

If you’ve told an adult friend or family member that they should not take a job, not date someone, not try skydiving or not move abroad, you may have violated a crucial moral right to ‘revelatory autonomy’ and ‘self-authorship’, according to a philosopher at Christ’s College, Cambridge.

Dr Farbod Akhlaghi’s study, published in the journal Analysis, is the first of its kind to suggest that we have a moral right to ‘revelatory autonomy’, that is the right to discover for ourselves who we’ll become as a result of making ‘transformative choices’, choices to have experiences that teach us what that experience will be like for us whilst also changing our core preferences, values and desires.

Dr Akhlaghi says: “The ability to see that the person we’ve become is the product of decisions that we made for ourselves is very important.

“I’m not telling people what to do. I’m just highlighting part of what is morally at stake in these very common interactions and trying to develop a framework for us to understand them. I hope some may find this helpful, as these will always be difficult moments for all of us.”

Traditionally, philosophers interested in ‘transformative experiences’ have focused on the decision-maker not on the people who are in a position to influence that person’s choices. But Dr Akhlaghi thinks that these neglected interactions present ‘an urgent ethical challenge’:

“There are lots of different reasons why we might seek to intervene – some selfish, others well meaning – but whatever our motivation, we can cause significant harm, including to the people we love most.”

While Akhlaghi accepts that advice can be offered without crossing the moral line, he warns that it is all too easy to slip into various forms of interference, such as forcing, coercing, manipulating or even ‘rationally persuading’ someone away from a transformative choice, in ways that may violate their right to revelatory autonomy.

Akhlaghi says: “Rational persuasion is probably the most common form of interference. Giving, when asked, factual information about a choice that you have knowledge about and the other person does not, can be justified. But while rational persuasion respects someone’s ability to reason, even this form of engagement can involve disrespecting their autonomous self-authorship.

For example, Akhlaghi continues: “Offering reasons, arguments or evidence as if one is in a privileged position with respect to what the other person’s experience would be like for them disrespects their moral right to revelatory autonomy.”

Initially inspired to consider this area of moral philosophy by personal experiences, Dr Akhlaghi examines and rejects a number of other conditions under which it could be argued that trying to prevent someone from making transformative choices is morally justified.

For example

Dissuading someone from becoming a parent because you think parenthood would make their life worse is problematic because becoming a parent is a positive experience for some and not for others, and no one can know that outcome in advance, even if the person doing the dissuading has experienced being a parent themselves.

A different example in the study relates to dissuading someone from making a career change that involves a big pay cut because you think that they would struggle to afford their expensive tastes. This is just as problematic, Akhlaghi says, because:

“We can only know what the future person’s interests are and whether their present interests will be fulfilled after a transformative choice has been made.”

“The person who changes job might manage to afford their expensive tastes and we don’t even know if that future person would still have these tastes. This highlights another problem – whose interests matter morally when trying to justify interfering: those of the present or the future person?”

Is it ever right to interfere?

“It is only permissible to interfere to try to prevent a transformative choice,” Akhlaghi argues “if someone’s right to revelatory autonomy is outweighed by competing moral considerations.”

A would-be killer’s right to revelatory autonomy is, for instance, plausibly outweighed by the wrongness of killing others solely to discover who they would become by doing so. Equally, protecting a friend from gratuitous self-mutilation would plausibly outweigh their right to autonomously discover what it would be like to harm themselves in this way.

Akhlaghi suggests that the more likely it is that a choice will affect someone’s ‘core preferences, identity and values’, the stronger the moral reasons would need to be to justify interfering in their decision. For instance, interfering in someone’s decision to go to university or not, would require far stronger moral reasons than them choosing whether to eat a cheeseburger or not.

Finally, Akhlaghi clarifies that his study concerns voluntary choices to have ‘transformative experiences.’ Some such experiences are instead either the unintended consequences of something we did, or ones we are forced into as, for example, children might be by a divorce. These raise different but related problems he hopes to explore in future work.

Reference

Farbod Akhlaghi, 'Transformative experience and the right to revelatory autonomy', Analysis (2022), DOI: 10.1093/analys/anac084

Undergraduates receive an annual Get In award to ensure they can make the most out of Cambridge life, and Master’s students receive a Studentship, managed by the Cambridge Trust, to enable them to take up their offer at Cambridge. To date 82 students have received Get In studentships and awards.

Ultimately, Get In aims to support every socio-economically disadvantaged Master’s and undergraduate student from an under-represented ethnic minority background. While there is still some way to go, the expansion of the initiative has enabled many more under-represented students to receive  support. Get In has been entirely funded through generous donations from individuals.

Cambridge alumnus Supraj Rajagopalan recently donated £1 million to Get In, the largest contribution to date. His generosity has almost doubled the number of Get In Cambridge recipients from 30 in 2021 to 52 in 2022. 

“Get In Cambridge is a fantastic and inspirational programme that I'm pleased to support," he commented. "Its scope of encouraging applications, as well as supporting students when they're here, is key to helping address systemic disadvantage both before and during their Cambridge experience. My Cambridge experience was transformative, and I believe in giving back to benefit future generations. I was exposed to incredible role models across Cambridge, and I believe the Get In programme offers today's students a wide range of role models at all levels — fellow students, College and University leaders, and alumni.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education, Prof Bhaskar Vira, said:

"We are incredibly grateful for such generosity from donors to Get In Cambridge, which represents a significant contribution to our continued efforts to address the under-representation of ethnic minority communities amongst our student community. Thanks to the support that we have received, we have been able to almost double the number of awards allocated. We are particularly pleased that we have been able to support students who are keen to continue their academic journeys to postgraduate level, with studentships for Master's students, as this is increasingly becoming the 'broken' pipeline in terms of financial support for students who wish to progress to higher degrees."

Of the 52 students who became part of the Get In community this year, 12 are studying for Master’s and 40 are undergraduates. The awards have had a transformational effect. Ahmad Hayat, from Newcastle, is studying for a Master’s in Law. He says:

“As a British Pakistani student, I have to admit that I was initially intimidated by the idea of studying at Cambridge. I had always assumed that it was a place for elite members of society and I wasn't sure if I belonged here. However, the Get In Cambridge studentship that I received has helped me to continue my journey through higher education and has given me the opportunity to prove to myself that I am capable of achieving my goals. Financially, it has made the course much more manageable, allowing me to focus on my studies without having to worry about the financial burden. It has also made a significant difference to my experiences in Cambridge as it has allowed me to take advantage of various extracurricular activities that I may not have otherwise been able to do.”

Get In Cambridge launched in 2019 as a targeted outreach and social media campaign to reach potential applicants from under-represented ethnic minority groups. The campaigns have reached millions of prospective applicants and won a number of prestigious social media awards. Since 2019, Cambridge has also seen a significant increase of the proportion of students from under-represented backgrounds successfully applying, in no small part due to the financial provision available from Get In Cambridge.

Image shows Bhaskar Vira in conversation with Simon Woolley at a Get In Cambridge reception

Research led by Cambridge scientists, and published in Nature Food, shows that tropical small-scale octopus fisheries offer a sustainable source of food and income to communities that face food insecurity, where the prevalence of undernourishment can exceed 40% and stunting in children under five commonly exceeds 30%. 

The high micronutrient density of octopus - including vitamin B12, copper, iron and selenium - means that human populations only need to eat a small quantity to supplement a diet primarily comprising staple plant crops. The new research shows that just a small amount of production in a tropical small-scale octopus fishery can deliver the micronutrient needs to a relatively large number of people.

The fast growth and adaptability of octopuses to environmental change can also facilitate sustainable production, and catch methods in the fisheries - primarily consisting of hand techniques, small-scale lines, pots and traps - are less environmentally harmful than those of large industrial fishing.

Dr David Willer, lead author, from the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow at Murray Edwards College, said: “Worldwide, nearly half of people’s calories come from just three crops – rice, wheat, and maize - which are high energy, but relatively low in key nutrients. Just a small serving of something very, very micronutrient rich, like octopus, can fill critical nutritional gaps. And, of course, if you get better nutrition as a child you’re much more physically and mentally prepared for later life, which can lead to better jobs, better employment and better social development.

“These small fisheries also provide an income and a livelihood, often to women whose economic status is enhanced as a result. Small-scale octopus fisheries revolve around local communities and potentially that gives them a greater resilience against market pressures and other disruptions to global food supply and trade.”

Small-scale fisheries, across all sectors, currently provide more than two-thirds of the fish and seafood destined for human consumption worldwide, and employ over 90% of fishers involved in capture fisheries. 47% of the workforce employed in these fisheries are women.

Based on a global review of data from global seafood databases and published literature, and written in partnership with science-led social enterprise Blue Ventures, the research found that in many cases tropical small-scale octopus fisheries are operating using relatively low impact techniques, and when combined with local and national management approaches can provide a more sustainable source of seafood. Successful approaches include periodic fishery closures, size restrictions, and licences. The need for knowledge transfer of fishing gears is also crucial so that the message on fish sustainability and securing the food supply and economic stability is spread widely. 
 

The pandemic has gone hand-in-hand with a much-increased public profile of science − genetics in particular. Be it the prominence of PCR testing or the development of vaccines, genetics has been in the spotlight in an unprecedented way. Given this, researchers from the Universities of Bath, Cambridge, Oxford, UCL, and Aberdeen wanted to know what the public felt about genetics and whether this new exposure of the science had made a difference.

The Genetics Society funded and commissioned a survey of over 2,000 randomly selected British adults through a public polling company Kantar Public. The researchers found that as a baseline most people were trusting of genetic technologies before the pandemic. Nearly half (45%) reported they trusted it to work for the societal good, 37% were neutral on this question, while 18% said they did not, and only very few (1-2%) were strongly distrusting.

When asked if their trust in genetics had gone up through the pandemic, four times more people said their trust had increased than those who reported that it had gone down. Trust in science more generally had strongly gone up with a third of people saying it had increased.

The results suggest that not only has trust in science gone up, but people want to hear more about it. Less than 10% thought that there was too much coverage of science in the media, while 44% reported that they want to hear more about it.

Anne Ferguson-Smith, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and International Partnerships and Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics at Cambridge University and President of the Genetics Society said: “These results really challenge us to double our efforts. We need to rise to the new opportunity and the challenge created by the outcomes of this survey”.

Co-lead Professor Laurence Hurst of the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath said: “this is potentially important to know – scientists have a tendency to stick in their labs, but it looks like, for the most part, the public not only trust us but that this trust has gone up somewhat and many want to hear more from us about our work.”

Professor Jonathan Pettitt, co-lead from the University of Aberdeen said: “It is hard to see any upsides to the pandemic but perhaps this is one? We never knew that so many people wanted to hear more from scientists.”

Co-lead Professor Alison Woollard of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford said: “We think we have established the limits of science communication. Despite all the talk of PCR over the last many months, we found that 30% hadn’t heard the term or knew it was a tool for testing for the virus. It is hard to see how any science can have more exposure than PCR has had. We need to be realistic and understand that, no matter what, we will never reach everyone. For informing people about things like vaccines this is important to know.”

Dr Adam Rutherford from the UCL department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment said: “We often hear that trust in science is at a low point, but what we found is that most people do trust the science of genetics as the basis of how we address global issues such as pandemics. However, scientists should not be complacent: we also found that the exposure of genetics during the pandemic made those suspicious of science more distrusting, despite the evidence. In a world where these voices can easily be amplified, we must be vigilant that our processes, methodologies and results are clearly and transparently communicated.”

Dr Cristina Fonseca, project coordinator for the Genetics Society, said “having a representative random survey is really vital and allows us insight into the true diversity of opinions.”

This article was adapted from a press release from the Genetics Society.

The study, published today in PLOS Medicine, looked at the impact of the levy on reception age children and those in year six, but found no significant association between the levy and obesity levels in year six boys or younger children from reception class.

The research was supported by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council.

Obesity has become a global public health problem. In England, one in ten reception age children (four to five years old) is living with obesity and this figure doubles to one in five children in year six (10 to 11 years). Children who are obese are more likely to suffer from serious health problems including high blood pressure, type II diabetes and depression in childhood and in later life.

In the UK, young people consume significantly more added sugars than is recommended – by late adolescence, they typically consume 70g of added sugar per day, more than double the recommended amount (30g). A large source of this is sugar-sweetened drinks. Children from deprived households are more likely to be at risk of obesity and to be heavy consumers of sugar-sweetened drinks.

In April 2018, to protect children from excessive sugar consumption and tackle childhood obesity, the UK governments introduced a two-tier sugar tax on soft drinks – the soft drinks industry levy. The tax was targeted at manufacturers of the drinks to incentivise them to reduce the sugar content of soft drinks.

Researchers from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge tracked changes in the levels of obesity in children in England in reception year and year six between 2014 and 2020. Taking account of previous trends in obesity levels, they compared changes in levels of obesity 19 months after the sugar tax came into effect.

The team found that the introduction of the sugar tax was associated with an 8% relative reduction* in obesity levels in year six girls, equivalent to preventing 5,234 cases of obesity per year in this group alone. Reductions were greatest in girls whose schools were in deprived areas, where children are known to consume the largest amount of sugary drinks – those living in the most deprived areas saw a 9% reduction.

However, the team found no associations between the sugar tax coming into effect and changes in obesity levels in children from reception class. In year 6 boys, there was no overall change in obesity prevalence.

Dr Nina Rogers from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge, the study’s first author, said: “We urgently need to find ways to tackle the increasing numbers of children living with obesity, otherwise we risk our children growing up to face significant health problems. That was one reason why the UK’s soft drinks industry levy was introduced, and the evidence so far is promising. We’ve shown for the first time that it is likely to have helped prevent thousands of children each year becoming obese.

“It isn’t a straightforward picture, though, as it was mainly older girls who benefited. But the fact that we saw the biggest difference among girls from areas of high deprivation is important and is a step towards reducing the health inequalities they face.”

Although the researchers found an association rather than a causal link, this study adds to previous findings that the levy was associated with a substantial reduction in the amount of sugar in soft drinks.

Senior author Professor Jean Adams from the MRC Epidemiology Unit said: “We know that consuming too many sugary drinks contributes to obesity and that the UK soft drinks levy led to a drop in the amount of sugar in soft drinks available in the UK, so it makes sense that we also see a drop in cases of obesity, although we only found this in girls. Children from more deprived backgrounds tend to consume the largest amount of sugary drinks, and it was among girls in this group that we saw the biggest change.”

There are several reasons why the sugar tax did not lead to changes in levels of obesity among the younger children, they say. Very young children consume fewer sugar-sweetened drinks than older children, so the soft drinks levy would have had a smaller effect. Similarly, fruit juices are not included in the levy, but contribute similar amounts of sugar in young children’s diets as sugar-sweetened beverages.

It’s unclear why the sugar tax might affect obesity prevalence in girls and boys differently, however, especially since boys are higher consumers of sugar-sweetened beverages. One explanation the researchers put forward is the possible impact of advertising – numerous studies have found that boys are often exposed to more food advertising content than girls, both through higher levels of TV viewing and in how adverts are framed. Physical activity is often used to promote junk food and boys, compared to girls, have been shown to be more likely to believe that energy dense junk foods depicted in adverts will boost physical performance and so are more likely to choose energy-dense, nutrient-poor products following celebrity endorsements.

The study was a collaboration involving researchers from the University of Cambridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Oxford, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and University of Bath.

*A relative reduction is the difference between the expected incidence of obesity had the sugar tax not been introduced and the actual incidence.

Reference
Rogers, NT et al. Associations between trajectories of obesity prevalence in English primary school children and the UK soft drink industry levy: an interrupted time series analysis of surveillance data. PLOS Med; 26 Jan 2023; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004160

In a newly-published analysis, literature specialists examined the phenomenon of internet memes about Jane Austen and her fictional creations, in particular those from Pride and Prejudice and, above all, Mr Darcy.

Austen’s work is ‘memed’ – turned into bite-sized, ironic snippets of online content – more than almost any other author of classic fiction. Darcy alone features in hundreds of memes on social platforms like Pinterest and Tumblr, most of which draw on two famous portrayals: by Colin Firth in the 1995 BBC series of Pride and Prejudice and Matthew MacFadyen in the 2005 film.

Moments from both are relentlessly recycled by online content creators, the study observes. One example, clipped from Firth’s famous ‘lake scene’, claims: “A truth universally acknowledged: you either love Colin Firth as Mr Darcy, or you’re wrong”. Another repurposes a well-known meme template of Wolverine, from the Marvel X-Men comics, to show the muscular superhero pining over MacFadyen’s famous ‘hand-flex’ – which is sometimes regarded as the steamiest scene in cinema.

The study suggests Austen has become a social media phenomenon for two main reasons. One is that her books effectively contained memes-in-waiting before the concept existed. The other is that younger generations are reappraising traditional ideas about masculinity in the wake of high-profile sexual abuse cases, such as those highlighted by the #MeToo movement. Darcy, the authors of the analysis argue, has become emblematic of an alternative ‘ideal man’: a strong, yet sensitive, reformed hero who learns to control his emotions to positive ends.

The idea for the study came from two Greek scholars – Katerina Kitsi-Mitakou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and Maria Vara (Athens School of Fine Arts) who had previously contributed to a book, The Reception of Jane Austen in Europe and continued to follow trends in how her novels are consumed by modern audiences. Georgios Chatziavgerinos, a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, who is researching representations of masculinity in media, joined the study after inundating his two co-authors with the latest Austen memes on social platforms.

 “Lots of authors are memed, but Austen memes have become a cult of their own,” Chatziavgerinos said. “A whole generation of young adults have grown up in a digital world where they use this sort of content to bond over shared values. Among classic authors, Austen is probably second only to Shakespeare in terms of how much this happens with her work. We wanted to understand why.”

As other researchers have explained, memes often enable fans of a particular artist or genre to discuss and satirise contemporary life through the prism of fandom. The study argues that the big themes in Austen novels – such as love, marriage, codes of behaviour, and private desire – provide ideal material through which younger audiences can discuss ideas about masculinity and femininity, sexual consent and non-conformity.

At one level, this is nothing new. Darcy’s brooding ‘alternative masculinity’, and the way he is motivated by his love for Elizabeth Bennett to become a better version of himself, has long provoked the sort of fan-worship that, for example, prompted ‘Darcymania’ around Firth in the 1990s.

The quantity of memes alluding to Darcy’s complexity, inner struggles and vulnerabilities has spiked in recent years, however. MacFadyen’s celebrated, electrified hand-flex after meeting Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Bennett for the first time in the 2005 movie, for example, now has its own dedicated blog on Tumblr. Fans often contest which of Firth and MacFadyen was better: one post by the Jane Austen Centre, accompanied by the caption, “He may be Darcy… but I was Darcy Firth”, provoked thousands of responses on Facebook.

The study’s authors suggest that Darcy’s hidden depths have acquired new meaning since #MeToo exposed the extent to which women experience harassment and sexual assault, especially from men in positions of power. “It’s no coincidence these memes skyrocketed after #MeToo,” Chatziavgerinos said. “Darcy, who balances conventional male qualities with sensitivity and respect for women, is in many ways the perfect antidote to the male behaviour that legitimately prompted such outcry.”

More generally, the study suggests that Jane Austen is highly memeable because she was doing something very similar in her books to what memes do today. “Memes are cultural replicators that give audiences mini-bursts of irony,” Kitsi-Mitakou said. “Austen’s writing foreshadows this because she often recontextualised other work to tell new truths about society.”

A good example is Northanger Abbey’s parody of Gothic novels, which were wildly popular in Austen’s lifetime. Austen sent up these books’ penchant for dark and stormy nights and damsels in distress, and in particular the social stereotypes they encouraged.

Some scenes in the book were absorbed by Regency audiences much as memes might be now, the study argues. One moment in which the heroine, Catherine Tilney, opens a suspicious chest she expects to be full of secrets, only to find an old laundry list, has itself become the basis of a popular meme about frustrated expectations.

“Northanger Abbey hovers between authenticity and fakeness much as Austen memes do,” Vara said. “There’s the same playful fakery, the same slightly ironic nostalgia.”

The study’s authors suggest that, like the TV and film adaptations before them, Austen memes are “seducing” a new generation of “non-Janeites” into her world through a new medium.

“Obviously I’d urge everyone to read the books, but what’s interesting is that often you need to have done so in order to really understand these memes,” Chatziavgerinos said. “Memes are now becoming one of the main ways in which younger audiences discover Jane Austen. They are breathing new life into her work and further cementing her immortality as a writer.”

The study is published in the journal Humanities.

The grant, from Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations (Gates Ag One), will enable researchers led by the University of Cambridge Crop Science Centre to engineer plants to take advantage of naturally occurring interactions with micro-organisms – fungi and bacteria – that help in the uptake of nutrients from the soil and air.

“African agriculture is at an inflection point, with vastly increasing demand at a time when supply is at risk, especially due to a changing climate,” said Giles Oldroyd, Director of the Crop Science Centre and Russell R Geiger Professor of Crop Science.

“The outcomes of this work have the potential to see gains as great as those from the Green Revolution, but without relying on costly and polluting inorganic fertilisers.

“Increasing sustainable production of crops in small-holder farming systems, like those in sub-Saharan Africa, directly addresses some of the worst poverty on the planet.”

Nutrients are vital to the success of crops. However, the land of small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa is depleted of nutrients. Artificial fertilisers are too expensive for small-scale farmers to buy, and their livestock numbers too low to produce sufficient levels of manure to nourish their crops. This leads to deceasing yields overtime, which affects livelihoods. Average maize productivity in sub-Saharan Africa is less than a quarter of that in the USA.

The Engineering the Nitrogen Symbiosis for Africa (ENSA) research programme utilises natural symbioses between plants, soil fungi and bacteria, that deliver nutrients to the plant. By leveraging these relationships ENSA aims to engineer crops to make better use of nutrients already present in the air and the soil. This would allow sustainable increases in crop yields, potentially revolutionising smallholder farming in low-and-middle-income-countries, while providing a viable solution to sustainable and secure food production in high-income countries.

The grant funds the Engineering the Nitrogen Symbiosis for Africa (ENSA) research programme. ENSA is a Cambridge-led international collaboration with partners: University of Oxford, UK; NIAB, UK; Royal Holloway University of London, UK; Aarhus University, Denmark; Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands; University of Freiburg, Germany; University of Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, France; University of Illinois, USA; Pennsylvania State University, USA.

A not-for-profit subsidiary of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates Ag One was created to leverage global crop science to meet the needs of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It focuses on accelerating research that enhances the biological processes of six priority food crops: cassava, cowpea, maize, rice, sorghum, and soybean.

“The pioneering work of ENSA is fundamental to levelling the playing field for smallholder farmers in Africa, leveraging the latest crop technology to ensure all communities have the chance to thrive,” said Joe Cornelius, CEO of Gates Ag One. “Breakthrough advances in crop science and innovation mean intractable challenges like nutrient uptake and soil health need not hold back agricultural development. We’re delighted that Gates Ag One can support ENSA to continue its work to meet the needs of smallholder farmers.”

The ERC is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. This year it has awarded €657m in grants to 321 researchers across Europe.

Consolidator grants are given to excellent scientists, who have 7 to 12 years’ experience after their PhDs, to pursue their most promising ideas.

“ERC Consolidator grants support researchers at a crucial time of their careers, strengthening their independence, reinforcing their teams and helping them establish themselves as leaders in their fields,” said President of the European Research Council Professor Maria Leptin. “And this backing above all gives them a chance to pursue their scientific dreams.”

Cambridge awardees:

Dr Eloy de Lera Acedo, STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellow at Cavendish Astrophysics and the Kavli Institute for Cosmology of the Department of Physics, has been awarded a grant for REACH_21: Probing the Cosmic Dawn and Epoch of Re-ionization with the REACH experiment.

De Lera Acedo said: “REACH_21 aims to unveil the mysteries of the infant universe. We want to answer the question: how did the cosmos, that evolved from the Big Bang, become the complex and luminous realm of celestial objects we can see from planet Earth today?

“This unknown missing piece in the puzzle of the history of the universe is now closer to being understood thanks to a new experimental approach that attempts to observe extremely faint radio signals emitted nearly 13.5 billion years ago by the most abundant element at that time: Neutral Hydrogen.”

“This is amazing news for the REACH collaboration. We have been designing our experiment for over five years and are currently awaiting the start of scientific observations in South Africa. The ERC grant is going to allow me to use the REACH telescope, analyse its data, and hopefully access a whole new world of information about the early evolution of the cosmos.”

Dr Daniel Hodson, of the Department of Haematology, has been awarded a grant for Unwind-Lymphoma: RNA helicases; switched paralogue dependency as an exploitable vulnerability in aggressive B cell lymphoma.

Hodson said: “This ERC-funded project, Unwind Lymphoma, will explore sex-specific, cancer cell addiction to the DDX3 family of RNA helicases, proteins that unwind secondary structure in mRNA.

“We will develop recent findings from our lab showing that whilst most male Burkitt lymphoma cells have deleted the X-chromosome gene DDX3X, they instead become uniquely addicted to the Y-chromosome paralogue DDX3Y, a related protein that is silenced in most normal cells. By unravelling the molecular basis of this ‘switched paralogue dependency’ we will expose a potential therapeutic Achilles Heel in this devastating form of blood cancer.

“I am thrilled to receive this award, which I hope will take me one step closer to a tenured position in Cambridge or beyond.”

Sohini Kar-Narayan, Professor of Device and Energy Materials of the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, has been awarded a grant for BIOTRONICA: Bio-Electronic Integrated Devices for Healthcare Applications.

Kar-Narayan said: “My research focuses on the development and characterisation of novel functional polymers and nanocomposites, and their application in functional devices using microscale additive manufacturing methods. It covers novel energy harvesting nanomaterials to microfluidic biosensors, to materials and devices for next-generation flexible and wearable electronics.

“I am absolutely delighted to have been awarded a Consolidator Grant to develop new tools for remote health monitoring and personalised medicine. These include novel non-invasive ‘point-of-care’ biosensors, which could potentially be self-powered through energy harvested from the body, thus enabling a step change in health monitoring and patient care.”

Dr Elisa Laurenti, University Associate Professor in Stem Cell Medicine and Wellcome Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellow of the Wellcome Medical Research Council Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and Department of Haematology, has been awarded a grant for HEXAGEN: Harnessing haematopoietic stem cell EX vivo Adaptation for GENe therapy.

Laurenti said: “Blood stem cell-based gene therapy has the potential to cure an expanding range of debilitating genetic diseases. HEXAGEN seeks to further improve gene therapies and their outcomes by overcoming the loss of stem cell function observed in current clinical protocols. Using cutting edge single cell technologies, we aim to identify how blood stem cells adapt to the invitro environment, dissect how this negatively impacts their function, and design new strategies to improve gene therapy.

“This award gives my team the unique opportunity to be ambitious and complete a full circle from basic stem cell biology to improving gene therapy for patients with many diseases. I am very excited, because unlocking blood stem cell behaviour outside our bodies will also drive many other clinical applications.”

Dr Naomi McGovern, of the Department of Pathology and the Centre for Trophoblast Research, has been awarded a grant for PMDR: Placental macrophages: Their development and role in the placenta.

McGovern said: “My team’s research focus is human placental macrophage biology. We are interested in determining the role of these cells in mediating healthy placental function and in protecting the placenta from infection. By developing our understanding of these cells, we will be able to provide new insight into pregnancy disorders.

“I am delighted that our proposal was selected for an ERC Consolidator Award. It is an acknowledgement of the exciting research my team carries out. The hard work of my team and the additional expertise provided by our supportive collaborators all helped to form the basis for this proposal. The award will provide my group with the time and resources to undertake high-risk research to inform on placental biology. It is now up to us to deliver on this generous investment.”

Professor Robert Phipps, of the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, has been awarded a grant for IonPairEnantRadical: Transforming Enantioselective Radical Chemistry using Ion-Pairing Catalysis.

Phipps said: “Chemical reactions that are driven by radical mechanisms are rapidly growing in importance, but it is an ongoing challenging to control enantioseletivity in those that form stereocentres. This grant will fund an ambitious program which will apply innovative and unexplored ion-pairing strategies to control enantioselectivity in a variety of important radical chemistries for which there are no or limited existing methods for imposing enantiocontrol.

“I am extremely grateful that my proposal was selected for funding in this very competitive call. I am excited about the chemistry that my group will be able to explore over the coming five years with this fantastic opportunity!”

Akshay Rao, Professor of Physics of the Cavendish Laboratory in the Department of Physics, has been awarded a grant for SPICE: Spin-Exchange and Energy Transfer at Hybrid Molecular/Lanthanide Nanoparticle Interfaces to Control Triplet Excitons.

Rao said: “Our project, SPICE, will explore the physics and chemistry of a new class of hybrid materials, organic molecules connected to lanthanide doped nanoparticles.

“Although we are still at an early stage of research, if we succeed it may create transformative applications in areas ranging from optoelectronics, data communication, photocatalysis, optogenetics and 3D bio-printing. Over the long term this kind of blue-sky science is what drives technological innovation helping to drive improved productivity in industry, but also directly tacking major societal challenges such as climate change and health.

“We are delighted that our project has received the support of the European Research Council. This is a great opportunity for us to pursue high-risk high-gain blue-sky science and push the limits of our understanding of these materials and take them towards application. The award also serves as recognition of the excellent science done by our PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, who’s tireless efforts to push the scientific frontier have made possible the breakthroughs that have brought us here.”

Dr Milka Sarris, Assistant Professor of the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, was awarded a grant for LongWayFromFlam: The uncharted journeys of inflammatory cells and their functional implications.

Sarris said: “My group studies how cells of the immune system move in the body to generate and resolve inflammatory responses. To study these processes, we use state of the art microscopy techniques and genetic approaches in zebrafish, a small vertebrate model organism.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have won this award at a key stage of my career and to be able to pursue an ambitious new line of fundamental research. It was a long process and I remain very grateful to my university colleagues, the peer reviewers and the evaluation committee for their feedback.”

Founded by the charity Schools OUT and celebrated every February across the UK, the theme this year is #BehindTheLens, celebrating LGBT+ peoples’ contribution to cinema and film from behind the lens.

Events include a lecture by leading former civil servant Sir Richard Heaton KBC, a screening of the film A Fantastic Woman, and an exhibition celebrating literature by LGBTQ writers in the early 20th century.

Dr Duncan Astle, Chair of the LGBTQ+ Network at the University, said:

“Whether it’s Richard's lecture, the University Library exhibition about challenges faced by LGBTQ writers and their publishers, or a discussion around the classic queer novel, you’ll be sure to find an interesting event throughout February.

“I hope you can join us as we celebrate this important month. Understanding our history is a crucial step towards addressing the many inequalities that sexual and gender minorities still face today.”

This year’s LGBT+ History Month events include:

LGBT+ History Month film screening: A Fantastic Woman

6pm, Thursday 16 February

Clare Hall, Herschel Road, Cambridge CB3 9AL

Free and open to all to attend

Clare Hall’s Graduate Student Body Committee presents a screening of A Fantastic Woman (2017) to mark LGBT+ History Month 2023, together with Javier Pérez-Osorio, PhD Candidate from the Centre for Film and Screen.

For more information, click here.

LGBT+ History Month Lecture: Sir Richard Heaton KBC

6pm, Wednesday 22 February

McGrath Centre, St Catharine’s College

Free and open to all to attend

Sir Richard Heaton, Warden of Robinson College, delivers the University of Cambridge's LGBT+ History Month lecture.

Before coming to Cambridge in 2021, Richard was Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office from 2012 to 2015, and at the Ministry of Justice from 2015 to 2020. As a Home Office official earlier in his career, Richard advised Ministers on the reform of sexual offences law, including the contested issue of age of consent and the abolition of the offence of gross indecency.

For more information, click here.

Queer Connections in Literary Cambridge

2.30pm to 4.15pm, Thursday 23 February

Milstein Seminar Rooms, Cambridge University Library

Free and open to all to attend

The early decades of the twentieth century saw a flourishing of literature by LGBTQ writers, many of whom had connections to Cambridge, as students of the University or friends of those who worked here.

Writers like Edward Carpenter, Siegfried Sassoon and Rupert Brooke had links with Charles Sayle and Theodore Bartholomew (both members of University Library staff), who in some cases helped them to publish and promote their work through their own networks.

This display of books and archival material from the University Library highlights some of these links and explores the stories of those involved.

For more information click here.

Bulgarian tendencies: The perils of publishing queer books

5.30pm to 6.30pm, Thursday 23 February

Milstein Seminar Rooms, Cambridge University Library

Free and open to all to attend

Justin Bengry, Director of the Centre for Queer History at Goldsmiths, delivers a special talk to mark LGBT History Month on the challenges encountered by authors and publishers whose books explored the lives and experiences of LGBTQ people.

For more information, click here

The Really Popular Book Club: The Hours by Michael Cunningham

7-8pm, Tuesday 28 February

Online via Zoom meetings

Free and open to all to attend

The Really Popular Book Club is the reading group hosted by Cambridge University Libraries. This February, we will be discussing Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Hours. Our special guest for the evening will be Dr Diarmuid Hester, a writer and radical cultural historian who teaches at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of English. He is the creator of A Great Recorded History, an audio trail of Cambridge focused on the city’s LGBTQ+ past, and the co-founder of Club Urania, a monthly performance and music night for LGBTQ+ people and their friends at Cambridge Junction.

For more information, click here.

Also happening:

6–7pm, Monday 13 February: Wellbeing Panel Discussion at St Catharine’s College with Dr Susan Bewley, Professor Sarah Franklin, Asifa Lahore and Elisabeth Sandler. Open to all. Booking is encouraged to help the College manage numbers.

6.30-8pm, Monday 20 February: All members of the Churchill College community welcome to take part in 'Pride Patches', a collective wellbeing art activity. For more details click here.

7.30–9pm, Tuesday 28 February: Spoken word event with readings of queer works and poetry in the St Catharine’s Chapel.

Throughout the month: King's College Library and Archives have prepared an exhibition featuring items written by and relating to prominent LGBT King’s figures. College members can visit in the Library but anyone can enjoy here.

Throughout the month: Art and other forms of media nominated by the St Catharine’s community will be displayed in the college’s Shakeshaft Library.