Hundreds of experts working on AI in education gathered for the first ever Connecting Cambridge event at Cambridge University Press & Assessment's headquarters on 21 October. Helena Renfrew Knight, Chief Strategy Officer of Cambridge University Press & Assessment, and Professor Bhaskar Vira, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education at Cambridge University, welcomed teams working on AI to share knowledge and innovation, and identify areas for future collaboration. Experts across Cambridge are navigating the opportunities and challenges of AI-enabled technology in education and publishing, underpinned by a human-first approach to transformation and a shared commitment to delivering on the University's mission to contribute to society. Read full story on Cambridge University Press & Assessment's website. 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.

The United Nations has selected a University of Cambridge student as a Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Every two years, the United Nations Youth Office recognises 17 exceptional young changemakers who are driving solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges and whose leadership is helping to advance the achievement of the SDGs. Tanatswa Amanda Chikaura, 26, from Zimbabwe, is a Hughes Hall PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr Elizabeth Weir and Professor Tamsin Ford. Her research interests are centred on autism, mental health and suicide prevention. In addition to her academic pursuits, Tanatswa is the Founder and Director of Ndinewe Foundation, a mental health organisation in Zimbabwe. Tanatswa said: “Young people are everywhere and sometimes it takes a fellow youth to understand another’s needs. “We have the ideas, solutions, creativity and so much more to add to the development of our nations. Youth leadership gives hope and inspiration to all. We are not only the future of tomorrow but the leaders of today.” Her supervisor Dr Weir said: “I’m delighted that Tanatswa has been selected as one of 17 Young Leaders for the SDGs. There were over 33,000 applicants for the cohort from more than 150 countries and Tanatswa will work with the UN over the next two years in this role. “She has been selected for this prestigious cohort on the basis of her impactful PhD scholarship on the relationship between trauma and suicidality among autistic people, as well as her ongoing work as the founder of the Ndinewe Foundation in Zimbabwe.” The announcement was made on United Nations Day, on 24 October, which marks the date when the United Nations officially came into being. 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.

A test deployed in many fertility clinics to assess the viability of embryos for use in IVF is likely to overestimate the number of embryos with abnormalities, suggests a study published today. Most embryos fail to develop or to implant, and even those that are good quality may not be transferred. Much more basic research is needed to inform future clinical practice and improve rates of assisted conception Kathy Niakan Using a new technique for imaging embryos in real time, a team led by scientists at the Loke Centre for Trophoblast Research, University of Cambridge, showed that abnormalities can arise at a later stage of embryo development than previously thought. This means that the tests used in some clinics may be finding errors in cells that will go on to develop into the placenta – and abnormalities in placental cells are less likely to affect the health of the fetus. When an egg has been fertilised by a sperm, it is known as a zygote. This then divides, each new cell taking a copy of each parent’s DNA. Each of these cells itself divides and copies, and this process occurs repeatedly, developing into a hollow ball of cells, a stage of the embryo known as a blastocyst. Around six days after fertilisation, the blastocyst implants itself into the lining of the uterus. Its outer cells develop into the placenta, a temporary organ that ensures the embryo – and the fetus into which it develops – receives the correct levels of nutrition and hormones necessary for its growth. Assisted conception technologies are increasingly widespread due to a range of factors. These technologies involve fertilising eggs in the clinic and transferring the blastocyst into the uterus. However, before transfer, many clinics test the embryos for aneuploidy, where some cells in the embryo have the wrong number of chromosomes. When abnormalities are detected, the embryo may be deemed inviable and discarded, meaning patients may need to go through another cycle of treatment, which can prove costly. So-called pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy is a treatment ‘add on’ that may be offered to older women and those with a history of recurrent miscarriages or multiple IVF failures. Researchers at the Loke Centre for Trophoblast Research, Cambridge, are interested in how early human embryos develop before implantation in the womb. This is because in assisted conceived, as many as nine in ten embryos fail to develop to a stage where they can be transferred to the womb. “Having a baby through assisted conception can be very challenging,” said Professor Kathy Niakan, Director of the Loke Centre for Trophoblast Research and Co-Chair of Cambridge Reproduction. “Most embryos fail to develop or to implant, and even those that are good quality may not be transferred. Much more basic research is needed to inform future clinical practice and improve rates of assisted conception.” To help understand development of the embryo at this early stage, Professor Niakan and colleagues, in collaboration with researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, developed a new, state-of-the-art method for watching embryos live in high resolution. The details are published today in Nature Biotechnology. The new imaging technique involves tagging DNA inside the cell nucleus with a fluorescent protein, making it visible under a microscope. The researchers then use an imaging technique known as light-sheet microscopy to observe the embryos in 3D as they developed without damaging them. First author Dr Ahmed Abdelbaki, a postdoctoral researcher at the Loke Centre for Trophoblast Research, said: “This is the first time that this very gentle method, with much higher resolution, has been used. It meant that we could watch the embryos as they developed over a two-day period, the longest continuous time that this process has been observed.” Co-author Professor Ben Steventon from the Department of Genetics at the University of Cambridge said: “The unique design of the microscope allows for multiple precious embryos to be watched simultaneously, and from both sides. This has allowed the team to catch events that have previously been missed. It’s a proof of the power of direct observation to uncover unexpected findings in human biology.” The technique led to a very unexpected finding. Professor Niakan, the study’s senior author, said: “We were extremely surprised to discover that abnormal cell divisions can happen from scratch at a very late stage of human development. It was only by using a new imaging technique that it was possible to see this happening.” Of the 13 embryos analysed by the team, 10% of the cells contained chromosomal abnormalities. These arose from problems when DNA is being copied between cells, for example when chromosomes did not move properly during division or when a cell divides into three, rather than two. Because these abnormalities arise at a relatively late stage of the embryo’s development, they appear in the outer layer of the blastocyst, which develops into the placenta – and it is from this layer that biopsies are taken for pre-genetic testing for aneuploidy. Professor Niakan’s team is now studying cells in the inner layer to see whether such spontaneous abnormalities can also arise there. The embryos used in this study were donated by families who had had successful pregnancies. The families were treated at Bourn Hall Clinic and Create Fertility. The research was supported by Wellcome, the Francis Crick Institute (which receives core funding from Cancer Research UK, the Medical Research Council and Wellcome) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Reference Abdelbaki, A et al. Live imaging of late-stage preimplantation human embryos reveals de novo mitotic errors. Nat Biotech; 23 Oct 2025; DOI: 10.1038/s41587-025-02851-1 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.

The Cambridge Innovation Hub has received cornerstone Government funding of at least £15 million to maintain the city’s position as a global leader in innovation. The world is coming to Cambridge for science. Government support means that work will now start at pace to make the Innovation Hub a reality. Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor Designed to drive UK growth, the Hub will connect entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, and researchers on a 2.7-acre site in Hills Road, in the centre of Cambridge, as the UK’s answer to Boston’s Lab Central and Paris’s Station F. The new facility will support science start ups to grow and compete on the world stage. The announcement was made as the annual Innovate Cambridge Summit brings together entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and political leaders this week, and is part of a £500 million growth package for new homes, infrastructure and business space for the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor. It follows a new report that reveals the Cambridge area is now the most investible hub for science, and has had the highest growth of any UK region outside the capital in the last decade. According to the new report from Beauhurst, Cambridge Enterprise, Innovate Cambridge and Cambridge Innovation Capital, Cambridge is a national economic asset where early-stage life sciences and deep tech companies have raised £7.9billion since 2015. International investors are now involved in nearly 40% of all deals, up from just 7% a decade ago. Cambridge’s innovation ecosystem has grown by almost 80% in the past decade, from 473 active companies in 2015 to 848 in 2025. Its spinout companies, born from University research, are powering this momentum, with spinouts accounting for 27.9% of all equity raised in the region. Total spinout investment has grown from £46 million in 2015 to £879 million in 2024, with life science spinouts raising an average of £8.4 million each in 2024, the highest for any UK city. This growth and success have been embodied by Cambridge-born success stories, including CellCentric, a leading clinical-stage biotech developing novel cancer therapeutics; CuspAI, an AI-driven materials discovery company; and Featurespace, a world leader in adaptive behavioural analytics for financial crime prevention. Science Minister and Oxford-Cambridge Innovation Champion, Lord Vallance, said: “Cambridge is one of the world's most fertile grounds for innovation to take root, and blossom into opportunities for investment, job creation, and progress in fields ranging from life sciences to deep tech. “As impressive as these figures are, there is still more potential here for us to unleash. This is precisely why we are backing the Cambridge Innovation Hub, as part of our programme of work across Government to boost the entire Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor, and fulfil its promise as an economic engine the whole nation benefits from.” Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, said: “Fast-tracking the Innovation Hub will help drive UK growth. It will connect entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, and our world-class researchers. It will quickly become Europe’s leading destination for early-stage deep tech and life sciences companies, and means Cambridge will continue to be a global leader in research and innovation. The world is coming to Cambridge for science. Government support means that work will now start at pace to make the Innovation Hub a reality." Professor Andy Neely OBE, Chair of Innovate Cambridge, said: “Cambridge’s science and innovation ecosystem is one of the UK’s greatest economic assets. The data shows that the world is increasingly looking to Cambridge to find the breakthrough ideas that can change lives and drive global progress.” Dr Kathryn Chapman, Executive Director, Innovate Cambridge, said: “The Summit is a chance to demonstrate how Cambridge continues to lead on innovation worldwide. Recognition as the fastest-growing UK hub for science investment, combined with cornerstone funding for a new international innovation hub, reflects the success of our unified vision and commitment to building a truly global innovation economy.” This latest report follows Dealroom data published earlier this year which showed Cambridge was #1 in Europe for deep tech VC per capita, and was second globally to only the Bay Area when it came to unicorns per capita. 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.

Problems with the brain’s waste clearance system could underlie many cases of dementia and help explain why poor sleep patterns and cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure increase the risk of dementia. Treating high blood pressure or encouraging people to stop smoking would be an achievable way to helping the glymphatic system work better Hugh Markus A study led by researchers at the University of Cambridge found that impaired movement of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) – the clear liquid that cushions and cleans the brain – predicted risk of dementia later in life among 40,000 adults recruited to UK Biobank. Their findings are published today in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association and are being presented at the World Stroke Congress 2025 in Barcelona. In the healthy brain, the so-called glymphatic system serves to clear out toxins and waste materials, keeping the brain healthy. Only discovered as recently as 2012, this system functions by flushing CSF through the brain along tiny channels around blood vessels known as perivascular spaces. It collects waste then drains out of the brain, helping keep it clean and healthy. The glymphatic system is thought to be important in protecting against many of the common forms of dementia, which are often characterised by the build-up of toxic substances in the brain – for example, Alzheimer's disease sees amyloid ‘plaques’ and tau ‘tangles accumulate in brain tissue. One of the most common forms of dementia is vascular dementia, caused by reduced blood flow to the brain. The most common cause of this type of dementia is cerebral small vessel disease, which affects the small blood vessels in the brain. But the impact of cerebral small vessel disease is even greater because it also interacts with other dementias making them worse; for example, a study of nuns in the US found that among those nuns whose brains showed signs of Alzheimer's disease post mortem, only around a half exhibited symptoms of dementia – but this increased to around nine in 10 if they also had cerebral small vessel disease. Professor Hugh Markus and colleagues at the University of Cambridge wanted to see whether cerebral small vessel disease and other cardiovascular risk factors damage the glymphatic system – and whether this in turn increases the risk of dementia. Until recently, it has only been possible to study glymphatic function in mice, but recent advances in MRI scanning have made it possible to study it indirectly in humans. Even so, it was only possible to do this practically in relatively small numbers, but Yutong Chen, while a medical student at the University of Cambridge, developed machine learning algorithms capable of assessing glymphatic functions from MRI scans at scale. The team applied the algorithm to MRI scans taken from around 40,000 adults in UK Biobank. They found three biomarkers – biological signatures – associated with impaired glymphatic function assessed at baseline, predicted the risk of dementia occurring over the subsequent decade. One of these was DTI-ALPS, a measure of the diffusion of water molecules along the perivascular spaces. Another was the size of the choroid plexus, where the CSF is produced. The third measure reflected the flow velocity of CSF into the brain. Yutong Chen, from the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Cambridge, said: “Although we have to be cautious about indirect markers, our work provides good evidence in a very large cohort that disruption of the glymphatic system plays a role in dementia. This is exciting because it allows to ask: how can we improve this?” Further analysis showed that several cardiovascular risk factors impaired glymphatic function – and hence increased dementia risk, and that this was partly via causing cerebral small vessel disease, which is visible in the MRI scans. First author Hui Hong, now a radiologist at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, said: “We already have evidence that small vessel disease in the brain accelerates diseases like Alzheimer's, and now we have a likely explanation why. Disruption to the glymphatic system is likely to impair our ability to clear the brain of the amyloid and tau that causes Alzheimer's disease.” The research suggests possible approaches for reducing dementia risk. One is to look at strategies for improving glymphatic function. Sleep plays an important role in glymphatic function, and so disrupted sleep patterns are likely to impair its ability to clear toxins. Alternatively, there may be existing medicines that could be repurposed, or new ones that could be developed, to improve glymphatic function. Another possible approach is to treat vascular risk factors such as high blood pressure. This is supported by recent studies: the SPRINT MIND trial, for example, showed that intensive blood pressure control (maintaining a systolic blood pressure of less than 120 mm Hg) led to a 20% reduction in cognitive decline or dementia compared to participants in the standard treatment group. Professor Markus, who leads the Stroke Research Group at the University of Cambridge and is a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, said: “We already know the importance of cardiovascular risk factors when it comes to dementia, and our findings further emphasise this link. “At least a quarter of all dementia risk is accounted for by common risk factors like blood pressure and smoking. If these impair glymphatic function, then we can intervene. Treating high blood pressure or encouraging people to stop smoking would be an achievable way to helping the glymphatic system work better.” Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This study offers us a fascinating glimpse into how problems with the brain's waste clearance system could be quietly increasing the chances of developing dementia later in life. By improving our understanding of the glymphatic system, this study opens exciting new avenues for research to treat and prevent dementia. It also emphasises the importance of managing known cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, for reducing dementia risk.” The research was funded by the British Heart Foundation, with additional support from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. Reference Hong, H et al. MRI markers of cerebrospinal fluid dynamics predict dementia and mediate the impact of cardiovascular risk. Alz & Dem; 23 Oct 2025; DOI: 10.1002/alz.70699 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.

The 10 organisations in Great Britain that carry out the highest number of animal procedures - those used in medical, veterinary and scientific research - have released their annual statistics today. Animal research... is an essential step in the development of new medicines, vaccines and treatments for both humans and animals. Jon Simons The statistics for the University of Cambridge are available on our website as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and openness around the use of animals in research. This coincides with the publication of the Home Office report on the statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain in 2024. The 10 organisations are listed below alongside the total number of procedures they carried out on animals for scientific research in Great Britain in 2024. Of these 1,379,399 procedures, more than 99% were carried out on mice, fish, rats, and birds and 82% were classified as causing pain equivalent to, or less than, an injection. This is the tenth consecutive year that organisations have come together to publicise their collective statistics and examples of their research. Organisation Number of Procedures (2024) The Francis Crick Institute 200,055 University of Oxford 199,730 University of Cambridge 190,448 UCL 175,687 Medical Research Council 140,602 University of Edinburgh 136,862 King's College London 106,300 University of Glasgow 99,509 University of Manchester 81,252 Imperial College London 48,954 TOTAL 1,379,399 In total, 72 organisations have voluntarily published their 2024 animal research statistics. All organisations are committed to the ethical framework called the ‘3Rs’ of replacement, reduction and refinement. This means avoiding or replacing the use of animals where possible, minimising the number of animals used per experiment and optimising the experience of the animals to improve animal welfare. However, as institutions expand and conduct more research, the total number of animals used can rise even if fewer animals are used per study. All organisations listed are signatories to the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK, which commits them to being more open about the use of animals in scientific, medical and veterinary research in the UK. More than 130 organisations have signed the Concordat, including UK universities, medical research charities, research funders, learned societies and commercial research organisations. Wendy Jarrett, Chief Executive of Understanding Animal Research, which developed the Concordat on Openness, said: “Animal research remains a small but vital part of the quest for new medicines, vaccines and treatments for humans and animals. Alternative methods are increasingly being phased in, but, until we have sufficient reliable alternatives available, it is important that organisations that use animals in research maintain the public’s trust in them. By providing this level of information about the numbers of animals used, and the experience of those animals, as well as details of the medical breakthroughs that derive from this research, these Concordat signatories are helping the public to make up their own minds about how they feel about the use of animals in scientific research in Great Britain.” Professor Jon Simons, Head of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Cambridge, said: “Animal research remains critical for understanding complex biological systems and is an essential step in the development of new medicines, vaccines and treatments for both humans and animals. We are committed to continuing to reduce the number of animals used in biomedical research, and our scientists are actively working on new methods and techniques that will provide robust scientific alternatives.” Text adapted from a press release by Understanding Animal Research. CASE STUDY: Mice are vital in the search for effective new dementia treatments Cambridge researchers are leading drug discovery to develop safer, more effective treatments for the millions of people affected by Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. “Dementia has often been viewed as something that happens normally as people age, but it's not. It's a disease that we need to treat, so that people can live well and stay independent in later life,” said David Harrison. “But many pharmaceutical companies have lost confidence in working in this area because the risk of failure is too great.” With expertise in drug discovery, Harrison’s team at Cambridge’s ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute is designing and making chemical molecules - the basis of future drugs - and testing whether they work on novel targets in the body. The aim is to develop these ideas to the point where pharmaceutical partners can more confidently take things forward. While the team routinely uses test-tube and computer-based models, animal models are vital in understanding how the many different cell types in the brain interact together in disease. They’re also vital in understanding how potential drugs are metabolised and distributed throughout the body, and in looking for any adverse effects that may occur in other tissues. Harrison said: “Almost one million people are estimated to be living with dementia in the UK. We need to find better treatment options. The animals we use are an essential part of the drug discovery process - they could help us change people’s lives.” Read the full story here 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.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have captured the most detailed look yet at how galaxies formed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang – and found they were far more chaotic and messy than those we see today. The team, led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, analysed more than 250 young galaxies that existed when the universe was between 800 million and 1.5 billion years old. By studying the movement of gas within these galaxies, the researchers discovered that most were turbulent, ‘clumpy’ systems that had not yet settled into smooth rotating disks like our own Milky Way. Their findings, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, suggest that galaxies gradually became calmer and more ordered as the universe evolved. But in the early universe, star formation and gravitational instabilities stirred up so much turbulence that many galaxies struggled to settle. “We don’t just see a few spectacular outliers – this is the first time we’ve been able to look at an entire population at once,” said first author Lola Danhaive from Cambridge’s Kavli Institute for Cosmology. “We found huge variation: some galaxies are beginning to settle into ordered rotation, but most are still chaotic, with gas puffed up and moving in all directions.” The researchers used JWST’s NIRCam instrument in a rarely used ‘grism mode’ that captures faint light from ionised hydrogen gas in distant galaxies. Danhaive wrote new code to unravel the grism data, matching it with images from other JWST surveys to measure how gas was moving inside each galaxy. “Previous results suggested massive, well-ordered disks forming very early on, which didn’t fit our models,” said co-author Dr Sandro Tacchella from the Kavli Institute and the Cavendish Laboratory. “But by looking at hundreds of galaxies with lower stellar masses instead of just one or two, we see the bigger picture, and it’s much more in line with theory. Early galaxies were more turbulent, less stable, and grew up through frequent mergers and bursts of star formation.” “This work helps bridge the gap between the epoch of reionisation and the so-called cosmic noon, when star formation peaked,” said Danhaive, who is also affiliated with the Cavendish Laboratory. “It shows how the building blocks of galaxies gradually transitioned from chaotic clumps into ordered structures, and how galaxies such as the Milky Way formed.” The results show how JWST allows scientists to probe galaxy dynamics at a scale that was impossible before. Future studies will aim to combine these findings with observations of cold gas and dust to paint a fuller picture of how the earliest galaxies took shape. “This is just the beginning,” said Tacchella. “With more data, we’ll be able to track how these turbulent systems grew up and became the graceful spirals we see today.” The research was supported in part by the Royal Society, the European Union, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). JWST is an international partnership between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The data for this result were captured as part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES). Sandro Tacchella is a Fellow of St Edmund’s College, Cambridge. Lola Danhaive is a PhD student in the Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Data Intensive Science. Reference: A. Lola Danhaive et al. ‘The dawn of disks: unveiling the turbulent ionised gas kinematics of the galaxy population at z 4-6 with JWST/NIRCam grism spectroscopy.’ Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2025). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staf1540 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.

A Cambridge patient has become the first person in Europe to receive cutting-edge histotripsy treatment outside of a clinical trial, after the technology was fast-tracked by the Government - marking a major milestone in NHS cancer care. Histotripsy represents a major and exciting step forward in cancer treatment Teik Choon See The pioneering procedure, which uses ultrasound energy to destroy tumours, took place at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, where Roger Jackson from Bedford underwent the incisionless treatment for liver cancer. The installation of the Edison Histotripsy System at Addenbrooke’s was made possible by a generous donation to the University of Cambridge from the Li Ka Shing Foundation, a long-standing supporter of cancer research in Cambridge. The technology, developed by US-based HistoSonics, has already treated over 2,000 patients worldwide following the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for the destruction of liver tumours in 2023. Histotripsy uses focused sound waves to generate microscopic “bubble clouds” from naturally occurring gases present in targeted tumour tissues. The bubbles form and collapse in microseconds, creating mechanical forces that destroy cancer cells without the need for surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. With treatment taking as little as 30 minutes and usually with minimal or no pain, patients can recover quickly and spend less time in hospital, with treatment performed as a day case. Dr Teik Choon See, consultant interventional radiologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH), led the procedure. He said: “Histotripsy represents a major and exciting step forward in cancer treatment. It allows us to target tumours more precisely while sparing surrounding healthy tissue, offering patients a safer and faster alternative to traditional therapies. “What is even more promising is in some reported cases, after the sound waves break apart the tumour, the patient’s immune response may become activated and clear up some remaining cancerous tissues, showing real hope for patients.” “An amazing experience” Roger Jackson, 80, said: “I feel privileged to be the first NHS patient and to receive this care was an amazing experience. It is impressive to think that sound waves can treat cancer, without the need for patients like me to go through intensive surgery, at what already is a stressful time. I’m hugely grateful to the team at Addenbrooke’s for their specialist care and expertise.” After treatment last week, Mr Jackson was discharged the following day and is back at home. He said he is now looking forward to spending time with his family, including his sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Roger Jackson’s treatment is the first histotripsy procedure to take place after the equipment was granted Unmet Clinical Need Authorisation in Great Britain enabling time-limited, controlled early access to the Histotripsy device under the UK’s Innovative Devices Access Pathway pilot programme. Overseen by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), this enables early market access to the medical device under certain conditions prior to full regulatory approval, meaning NHS patients can benefit from technology years earlier than planned. With preliminary funding from Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), treatment is initially being offered to selected patients with tumours from primary and secondary liver cancers. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is exploring initiatives to fund research into the clinical and cost-effectiveness of histotripsy. Further studies are underway to explore its use in other cancer types. “The beginning of a new generation in cancer treatment” Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “This marks the beginning of a new generation in cancer treatment. We are lighting the fuse beneath the technological revolution, transforming care for NHS patients. “By slashing red tape, we’ve made sure this game-changing new cancer treatment has reached the NHS front line quicker, and I'm proud to say British patients are now the first in Europe to benefit. “This government has streamlined approval processes to create an NHS fit for the future - protecting patients while unleashing the full potential of our scientists and NHS staff so they can deliver world-class care.” Roland Sinker, chief executive of CUH, said: “Histotripsy represents a hugely exciting and new era of cancer innovation and care. “With faster recovery times and shorter hospital stays, this not only reduces the strain on our hospital beds, but it also frees up surgeons to focus on the more complex cancer cases, helping to cut waiting times. “We are delighted to be at the forefront of this new ground-breaking technology and understanding how we can treat cancer more accurately and precisely, a position we aim to strengthen further with our planned Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital.” Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital, set to be built on Europe’s largest life science campus, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, is a partnership between CUH and the University of Cambridge. By bringing world-leading scientists and clinical expertise together in one NHS building, the new hospital will treat patients across the East of England and will accelerate research and innovations to change the story of cancer across the UK and beyond. Lawrence Tallon, Chief Executive of the MHRA, said: “This milestone shows how smart, agile regulation can help bring promising new treatments to patients sooner. Through the Innovative Devices Access Pathway, we at the MHRA have worked with partners across the health system to safely make early access to this technology possible. “My congratulations to the team at Cambridge University Hospitals on this breakthrough – their work demonstrates how collaboration can unlock innovation for patients and deliver faster access to care.” Treatment for Histotripsy Addenbrooke’s is currently setting up a referral pathway, so the histotripsy technology can be made available to patients at Addenbrooke’s and beyond. External referrals will be considered through a consultant referral, and suitability for the treatment will be decided by medical teams based on the cancer location, size, extent and overall patient’s fitness. No other provider is offering histotripsy in the UK at the moment. Patients should speak to their consultant if they have any questions about being referred for treatment. If you already have a referral, and have further questions, please email the Cambridge team. Adapted from a press release from CUH 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. 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Researchers have launched a public survey to help them unlock the secrets of vivid memory, and find ways to help us better recall past experiences For the first time, cognitive neuroscientists are working directly with humanities scholars to design experiments that try to understand vivid memories from an entirely new perspective. Dr Kasia Mojescik Do you have a memory so vivid you can relive it as if it's happening all over again, re-experiencing the physical sensations and emotions just as you did in that moment? Researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Durham want to understand more about vivid memories: how these experiences differ from person to person, how they evolve as we age, and how they changed across modern history. To do it, they need your help. The team has launched an online public survey asking people to describe two of their most vivid memories. They’re hoping for thousands of responses from people of all age-groups and walks of life, to help them build an anonymised database representative of the whole population. The findings will inform new ways to help people remember things in more vivid detail. They will also help researchers to understand the nature of human memories across the lifespan, and how ideas about memory have evolved over centuries. While the modern scientific definition of vivid memory tends to emphasise visual detail, the team is taking a novel approach by drawing on Shakespeare’s texts and historical diaries for a richer definition, encompassing many additional sensations. Dr Kasia Mojescik, a researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge who is involved in the project, said: “For the first time, cognitive neuroscientists are working directly with humanities scholars to design experiments that try to understand vivid memories from an entirely new perspective.” Professor Charles Fernyhough in the Department of Psychology at Durham University, and a member of the project team, said: “By exploring historical and literary perspectives on memory, we’re including many aspects of the experience of remembering - such as strong emotions, and the feeling of being present in the moment - that have been neglected in purely scientific studies.” Using machine learning tools, the team will look for recurring patterns in the experiences that are remembered with the greatest detail throughout our lives. Trends that emerge across age groups might explain why, even as we feel our memories are becoming less precise as we age, our most precious or identity-shaping memories often remain as vivid as if they happened yesterday. Dr Martha McGill in the Faculty of English at the University of Cambridge, a member of the project team, will reflect on how the experience of remembering has changed over time, looking at British autobiographical writings from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Professor Jon Simons in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, and project lead, said: “Many people have at least one really vivid memory. For me it’s the birth of my first child. It’s not something that I just know happened – it’s an event I can go back and relive in incredible detail, like mental time travel.” The team hopes that the findings might also inform future pharmaceutical treatments and therapeutic interventions for memory problems. CLICK HERE TO TAKE PART IN THE SURVEY More information on the research project, When Memories Come Alive, is available here. This research is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s pilot scheme for interdisciplinary research: the Cross Research Council Responsive Mode scheme (CRCRM). 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.