Research Horizons

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Lines of Thought: Understanding Gravity Apr 29, 2016

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Cambridge University Library is celebrating its 600th anniversary with an exhibition of priceless treasures communicating 4,000 years of human thought. To celebrate, we have made six films on the six distinct themes featured in Lines of Thought. The second film in the series looks at Gravity; by following the discussions of generations of great scientific minds, from Copernicus to Hawking via Newton and Einstein, we begin to understand our place among the stars. To see more of the exhibits in this theme, visit the Virtual Exhibition: https://exhibitions.lib.cam.ac.uk/linesofthought/case/gravity/

Lines of Thought: Revolutions in communications Mar 14, 2016

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From 3000-year-old Chinese oracle bones to Penguin paperbacks of the 20th century, the collections at Cambridge University Library chart the technological revolutions that have changed the world around us. The objects in the film all feature in the Library's spectacular new exhibition Lines of Thought: Discoveries that Changed the World - See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/news/lines-of-thought-revolutions-in-communications#sthash.N7v4PP1M.dpuf

Lines of Thought: Discoveries that Changed the World Mar 14, 2016

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The horses’ teeth Oct 06, 2015

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This set of 29 papier mache models of horses' teeth (Wh. 6135) was made by Dr Louis Auzoux in France in the 1890s. The original wooden case opens out to reveal four rows of spaces for sets on each side. A hinged wooden flap holds the teeth in place. The models demonstrate the appearance of horses’ teeth at different ages, the effects of wind sucking and crib biting, and the fraudulent ways of making a horse seem older or younger by the appearance of its teeth. As a medical student in Paris, Auzoux noticed that there was often a shortage of human remains available for dissection. To deal with the shortage of bodies, he began producing accurate anatomical models that could be taken apart piece by piece. With financial support from the French state, Auzoux founded a factory for producing anatomical models. The models became a commercial success and were used by schools, universities and hospitals, as well as by private individuals who could rent models at low costs. Responding to changing trends in scientific research and education, the company branched out and began producing models of human embryos, animals and plants. The horses’ teeth are on display in the Main Gallery of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science. The museum is open Monday to Friday 12:30-4:30pm. The Museum is not always open during University vacations and visitors are advised to check beforehand. Admission is free. Produced by Veronica Balzano and Nick Saffell

The Magna Carta of scientific maps Oct 06, 2015

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One of the most important maps of the UK ever made – described as the ‘Magna Carta of geology’ – is to go on permanent public display in Cambridge after being restored to its former glory. - See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/the-magna-carta-of-scientific-maps#sthash.cfVPSGJz.dpuf William Smith’s 1815 Geological Map of England and Wales, which measures 8.5ft x 6ft, demonstrated for the first time the geology of the UK and was the culmination of years of work by Smith, who was shunned by the scientific community for many years and ended up in debtors’ prison. Today, exactly 200 years since its first publication, a copy of Smith’s map – rediscovered after more than a century in a museum box – will go on public display at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences. Aside from a copy held at The Geological Society in London, the Cambridge map is believed to be the only such map on public display anywhere in the world.

The Super-Resolution Revolution Jul 06, 2015

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Cambridge scientists are part of a resolution revolution. Building powerful instruments that shatter the physical limits of optical microscopy, they are beginning to watch molecular processes as they happen, and in three dimensions. Here, Professor Clemens Kaminski describes how a new era of super-resolution microscopy has begun. The developments earned inventors Eric Betzig and William E Moerner (USA) and Stefan Hell (Germany) the 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, and are based on clever physical tricks that work around the problem of light diffraction. Among the scientists in Cambridge who are using the techniques, Kaminski’s team in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology designs and builds super-resolution microscopes to study Alzheimer’s disease. “The technology is based on a conceptual change, a different way of thinking about how we resolve tiny structures. By imaging blobs of light as separate points in time, we are able to discriminate them spatially, and thus prevent image blur.” Their work is funded by the Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, Alzheimers Research UK, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Leverhulme Trust. http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=cambridgeuniversity

The Story of Campath -1H Jul 06, 2015

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A transformational new treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) - the result of over three decades of research in Cambridge -- has now been approved by the EU agency responsible for regulating new drugs. In recognition of the highly effective new treatment, the University of Cambridge has produced this video which explores the history of the drug, showing the many challenges as well as successes experienced during the course of this development. For more information, visit: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/drug-developed-in-cambridge-approved-for-treatment-of-multiple-sclerosis

The First Book of Fashion Jul 06, 2015

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Fashion conveys complex messages. The recreation of an outfit taken from one of an extraordinary series of Renaissance portraits reveals how one man made his mark on society. In 1530 Matthäus Schwarz, an accountant in the German city of Augsburg, was man in his prime: slim, smart and successful. In a portrait that shows him in an outfit made for the occasion of the Imperial Diet of Augsburg, he is every inch the fashionable man about town, ready to step out of his door and join the party. In the painting Schwarz wears a doublet made in panes of brilliant red and yellow silk over a shirt cut from fine linen. His slender calves are shown off in yellow leather hose and his knees are cross-gartered. On his feet are slim shoes and on his head is a flat black beret made in felted wool. At his waist are belts carrying the sword and red purse that complete the picture. Now an experimental project undertaken by Dr Ulinka Rublack, Reader in Early Modern History at the University of Cambridge, has brought this portrait alive in a historically accurate reconstruction of the outfit it depicts. The project reveals the role of dress in conveying complex social and political messages and the way in which fashion had a profound effect on mood and behaviour.

Volvox embryo turning itself inside out Jul 06, 2015

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Researchers have captured the first 3D video of a living algal embryo turning itself inside out, from a sphere to a mushroom shape and back again. The results could help unravel the mechanical processes at work during a similar process in animals, which has been called the “most important time in your life.” Read more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/upside-down-and-inside-out

Planes go hybrid-electric Jul 06, 2015

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An aircraft with a parallel hybrid engine – the first ever to be able to recharge its batteries in flight – has been successfully tested in the UK, an important early step towards cleaner, low-carbon air travel.

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