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Researchers from the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge and Skoltech in Russia have shown that polaritons, the quirky particles that may end up running the quantum supercomputers of the future, can form structures that behave like molecules – and these ‘artificial molecules’ can potentially be engineered on demand. Their results are in the journal Physical Review B Letters.

A new national consortium, co-led by the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge, will bring together mathematical modellers to produce faster, more rigorous predictions for the COVID-19 pandemic and advise UK government bodies.

̽»¨Ö±²¥swirling currents occur when the rodlike structures that extend inward from the cells’ membranes bend in tandem, like stalks of wheat caught in a strong breeze, according to a study from the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge and the Flatiron Institute.

In the absence of a vaccine or highly effective treatments for COVID-19, combining isolation and intensive contact tracing with physical distancing measures—such as limits on daily social or workplace contacts—might be the most effective and efficient way to achieve and maintain epidemic control, according to new published in ̽»¨Ö±²¥Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.

Professor Julia Gog is a mathematician who specialises in modelling the spread of infectious diseases, particularly pandemic influenza. For months, she and the other members of her research group in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics have been modelling and mapping the spread of coronavirus and COVID-19.

is a Research Fellow in mathematics at Sidney Sussex College and a member of the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics. She completed her PhD at Oxford and her undergraduate studies at Durham. Her research focuses on a branch of mathematics which models the behaviours of networks, from how diseases spread to how viral stories circulate on social media.

Dr Stephanie Höhn is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and a member of Trinity Hall. Here, she tells us about her unusual path to an academic career, the advantages of being a biologist in a mathematics department, and how an organism that can turn itself inside out might one day help us prevent certain birth defects.

Amelia Drew is a PhD candidate in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. Here, she tells us about dark matter, being the only scientist in the family, and how to avoid feeling isolated during a PhD. 

is a Walter Grant Scott Fellow in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and a member of Trinity Hall. Here, she tells us about the elegance of mathematical physics, which 'gets better and better the further you go.'  

A report out today examines the factors that influence ‘maths anxiety’ among primary and secondary school students, showing that teachers and parents may inadvertently play a role in a child’s development of the condition, and that girls tend to be more affected than boys.