Infectious diseases

Topic description and stories

Combating infectious diseases and the threat of antimicrobial resistance remains one of the greatest global challenges.

A 3d animation of the COVID-19 Virus or Coronavirus being broken apart

‘Programmable molecular scissors’ could help fight COVID-19 infection

16 Nov 2022

Cambridge scientists have used synthetic biology to create artificial enzymes programmed to target the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2 and destroy the...

Cambridge researchers join new £2 million UK consortium to tackle monkeypox outbreak

20 Oct 2022

Cambridge is among 12 institutions across the UK that will be working together to tackle the monkeypox outbreak, developing better diagnostic tests...

Model of coronavirus and hypodermic needle

Referrals to long COVID clinic fell by 79% following roll-out of the vaccine

06 Oct 2022

Referrals to Cambridge’s long COVID clinic fell dramatically in the period August 2021 to June 2022, which researchers say is likely due to the...

Prehistoric roots of cold sore virus traced through ancient DNA

27 Jul 2022

First ancient herpes genomes to be sequenced suggest a Bronze Age flourishing linked to migrations into Europe and possibly the emergence of kissing.

Study reveals why highly infectious cholera variant mysteriously died out

05 Jul 2022

Scientists say continuous monitoring of the cholera bug genome is key to preventing outbreaks of new variants.

Highly antibiotic-resistant strain of MRSA that arose in pigs can jump to humans

28 Jun 2022

A new study has found that a highly antibiotic-resistant strain of the superbug MRSA – methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus – has emerged in...

Portrait of young woman farmer holding fresh eggs in hands

Intensive farming may actually reduce risk of pandemics, experts argue

24 Jun 2022

Scientists evaluate the evidence that intensive livestock farming is causing pandemics, and find that intensive farming could actually reduce the...

3d digital image corona virus on planet Earth in Africa

Scientists publish first real-world data from Africa looking at immune response to AZ/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine

11 May 2022

Scientists have released the first real-world data from Africa on the effectiveness of two doses of AstraZeneca/ChaAd0x-1 COVID-19 vaccination...

Cambridge vaccine expert in $42million partnership to develop 'future-proofed' coronavirus vaccines

08 Mar 2022

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that DIOSynVax, a biotech spinout of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, will receive $42 million (about £32 million...

Genomic study shows that England’s travel quarantine measures were effective – up to a limit

23 Feb 2022

Fourteen-day quarantine measures imposed on incoming travellers returning to England in summer 2020 helped prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus...

Testing the effectiveness of KN95 and surgical mask ‘fit hacks’

02 Feb 2022

Researchers have tested a variety of popular hacks for improving the fit of KN95 and surgical masks, and found that while some hacks do improve fit...

Covid-19 seen under the microscope. SARS-CoV-2, 3D rendering

Omicron may be significantly better at evading vaccine-induced immunity, but less likely to cause severe disease

20 Dec 2021

̽��ֱ��Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 may be significantly better than previous variants at evading vaccine-induced antibodies, according to new research...

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