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Cambridge researchers have shown how rapid genome sequencing of virus samples and enhanced testing of hospital staff can help to identify clusters of healthcare-associated COVID-19 infections.

Ian��Goodfellow��is no stranger to infectious disease outbreaks. In 2014 he left behind the safety of his Cambridge lab to join a taskforce fighting the hazardous Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. With COVID-19 now sweeping the globe,��Goodfellow��is once again applying his scientific expertise to finding solutions in real time.

We spoke with Cambridge’s most recent Nobel Laureate about decades of research, spin-outs, pharma giants and the booming life sciences cluster in Greater Cambridge.

One hundred years ago, celebrations marking the end of the First World War were cut short by the onslaught of a devastating disease: the 1918-19 influenza pandemic.

Researchers say that new ‘mini-placentas’ – a cellular model of the early stages of the placenta – could provide a window into early pregnancy and help transform our understanding of reproductive disorders. Details of this new research are published today in the journal Nature.

Researchers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and the ̽��ֱ�� of Oxford have discovered a new molecule that plays a key role in the immune response that is triggered by influenza infections. ̽��ֱ��molecule, a so-called mini viral RNA, is capable of inducing inflammation and cell death, and was produced at high levels by the 1918 pandemic influenza virus. ̽��ֱ��findings appeared in Nature Microbiology yesterday (September 17).

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An innovative new study takes a network theory approach to targeted treatment in rural Africa, and finds that a simple algorithm may be more effective than current policies, as well as easier to deploy, when it comes to preventing disease spread – by finding those with “most connections to sick people”. ��

Scientists have uncovered why Zika virus may specifically target neural stem cells in the developing brain, potentially leading to microcephaly – a potentially serious birth defect where the brain fails to develop properly, leading to a smaller head.��

Scientists at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge have succeeded in growing miniature functional models of the lining of the womb (uterus) in culture. These organoids, as they are known, could provide new insights into the early stages of pregnancy and conditions such as endometriosis, a painful condition that affects as many as two million women in the UK.

We are still part-virus, writes Edward Emmott, Research Associate in Virology, for ̽��ֱ��Conversation. Human DNA plays host to a range of different viruses. And this could help explain��why it has been so difficult to develop effective antiviral drugs.