Cambridge alumni and faculty are often asked to comment on the news of the day by prominent news media, most recently in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CBS News, CNN and NPR.
JULY 2026
The New York Times
July 24, 2026
Life of Alan Turing Emerges in Richer Detail From Short Story
Coverage of Sarah Dillon, a professor of English literature, who has transcribed a handwritten story that Alan Turing wrote in the year before his death, presenting a different side of him.
July 17, 2026
How Andy Burnham, ‘King of the North,’ Conquered U.K. Politics
Andy Burnham, who studied English at Fitzwilliam College, has become the new Prime Minister. He is the first Cambridge alumnus to take the post since Stanley Baldwin 89 years ago.
July 10, 2026
How Terrorist Groups Are Using A.I. to Gain an Edge in Battle
Dr Antonia Juelich (Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence/Cambridge Programme on AI Science & Policy) has led research which found that the terrorist organization Boko Haram is using AI chatbots to design explosives, upgrade weapons, and brainstorm ideas on how to attack their enemies.
July 3, 2026
Mary Beard Looks at Trump and Can’t Not Think of Ancient Rome
Mary Beard, professor emerita of classics at University of Cambridge, explores comparisons between Donald Trump and the emperors of ancient Rome.
The Wall Street Journal
July 19, 2026
An American Woman Shook Up One of the Oldest of England’s Old Boys Sports
Camille VanderMeer unexpectedly became the symbol of a major cultural shift at the University of Cambridge by leading a traditionally male rowing crew to victory in one of England's oldest sporting traditions.
Earth.com
July 18, 2026
World Cup travel creates more emissions than the tournament itself
A new study led by Prof Shaun Larcom (Land Economy/Selwyn College) analysed the carbon footprint of this year’s World Cup and the recent Coldplay tour, and suggests that fans should be rewarded with rebates for greener travel to ‘mega-events’.
Newsweek
July 16, 2026
Common Sweeteners Can Damage Your Gut Bacteria, Study Finds
Professor Kiran Patil and Dr Sonja Blasche (MRC Toxicology Unit) have led research which found that some commonly-used sweeteners slow the growth of certain gut bacteria, with potential implications for gut health.
CBS News
July 12, 2026
Milepost: David Attenborough
Sir David Attenborough, who turned 100 years old in May, broke the record for oldest nominee for a Primetime Emmy Award, earning two nominations this year.
Forbes
July 9, 2026
How Air Pollution Impacts Other Aspects Of Human Health, Not Just Lungs
Dr Annalan Navaratnam, Alexandra Tien-Smith and Dr Haneen Khreis (IMS Epidemiology) have found that long-term exposure to certain types of air pollution is linked to an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease.
WIRED
July 9, 2026
Is an Air-Conditioning Revolution Coming to Europe?
University of Cambridge spin-out Barocal is mentioned in this article on the development of environmentally friendly forms of air conditioning, as Europe struggles with another heat wave.
CNN
July 8, 2026
Gene-edited babies are now closer to becoming a reality. The ethical debate is far from settled
Coverage of the ethical debate around gene editing in embryos to avoid genetic diseases, highlighting recent work led by Professor Kathy Niakan (Loke Centre for Trophoblast Research) that demonstrated the extreme precision of a new gene editing technique.
NBC News
July 3, 2026
Rare copy of Declaration of Independence seized in 1776 uncovered in London
Professor Nicholas Guyatt (History / Jesus College) speaks about the discovery of a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence found in London, which had been seized in 1776.
JUNE 2026
Washington Post
June 25, 2026
DNA editing of human embryos reignites debate over designer babies
Research led by Professor Kathy Niakan (Loke Centre for Trophoblast Research) has shown a genome editing technique called base editing can be used to alter a single gene in human embryonic cells.
The New York Times
June 15, 2026
How Does One Brain Speak Two Languages?
Dr Mirjana Bozic (Psychology/King’s College) comments on research that suggests there is a single ‘grammatical engine’ in the brain capable of driving several languages at once.
June 8, 2026
What We Know About Weight-Loss Drugs Is Rapidly Changing
Dr Marie Spreckley (IMS Epidemiology) comments on the latest developments relating to the new weight-loss drugs.
NPR
June 15, 2026
U.K. announces social media ban for children under 16
Prof Amy Orben (MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit/St John’s College) was the lead expert interviewed on NPR’s All Things Considered.
Yahoo News
June 14, 2026
The US food imports most at risk from super El Niño this summer
Andrew Coburn (Cambridge Judge Business School) comments on the effect of climate-driven disruptions on crop prices.
June 6, 2026
Researchers Successfully Trial AI-Designed Vaccine for the First Time
Coverage of research led by Professor Jonathan Heeney (Veterinary Medicine / Darwin College) to engineer better vaccines that could provide broad protection from thousands of variants of viruses in a single vaccine.
Interesting Engineering
June 2, 2026
Cambridge’s new robot could help solve millions of years old evolution mystery
Researchers led by Dr Michael Ishida (Department of Engineering) have developed a fish-like robot that shows how some species of modern fish are able to walk on land, and could help unravel how early vertebrates evolved similar abilities hundreds of millions of years ago.
MAY 2026
Gizmodo
May 28, 2026
‘A Paradigm Shift’: Supermassive Black Hole Without a Galaxy Changes What We Thought Came First
Researchers led by Professor Roberto Maiolino, Dr Francesco D’Eugenio and Ignas Juodžbalis (Cavendish Laboratory/Kavli Institute for Cosmology) have used the James Webb Space Telescope to spot a black hole in the early universe that formed before its galaxy, a finding that could upend our understanding of how black holes form and grow.
Scientific American
May 27, 2026
Gigantic 'little red dot' threatens to upend cosmic history
Researchers led by Professor Roberto Maiolino, Dr Francesco D’Eugenio and Ignas Juodžbalis (Cavendish Laboratory/Kavli Institute for Cosmology) have used the James Webb Space Telescope to spot a black hole in the early universe that formed before its galaxy, a finding that could upend our understanding of how black holes form and grow.
Nature
May 21, 2026
Should I get a dog? What to know about pet ownership as a scientist
María López Cavestany brought her dog Kika with her from the United States when she moved to the University of Cambridge.
Time Magazine
May 18, 2026
Could the United Kingdom Rejoin the E.U.? Here’s Everything You Need to Know
Professor Catherine Barnard (Faculty of Law/Trinity College) speaks about the 2020 Withdrawal Act, and the potential for the UK to rejoin the EU.
Yahoo! News
May 14, 2026
Faint black hole 'ringing' provides a sharper test of Einstein’s gravity
Researchers led by Richard Dyer and Dr Christopher Moore (Institute of Astronomy) have developed a technique to analyse how black holes ‘ring’ when they collide and merge.
The Wall Street Journal
May 11, 2026
The Way Companies Aim for Net Zero Is Flawed. It’s Also Working.
A study led by Dr Tom Swinfield (Zoology) found carbon credits have enabled vital protection of tropical forests despite being oversold tenfold.
Scientific American
May 11, 2026
This sulfurous hell world might change the way we classify exoplanets
Researchers led by Dr Harrison Nicholls (Institute of Astronomy) have identified an exoplanet with a magma-covered surface and a sulfur-rich atmosphere.
CNN
May 9, 2026
The country where lethal hantavirus cases are on the rise. Experts blame climate change
Dr Charlotte Hammer (Centre for the Study of Existential Risk/Downing College) speaks about the outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Wired
May 9, 2026
The New Wild West of AI Kids’ Toys
Coverage of a report by Dr Emily Goodacre and Prof Jenny Gibson at the Faculty of Education on how generative AI toys affect young children.
APRIL 2026
NPR
April 22, 2026
Monkey indigestion? Eat dirt
Coverage of a study led by Dr Sylvain Lemoine (Department of Archaeology) showing that Gibraltar’s monkeys have started using “geophagy” to help them tolerate the ultra-processed foods the animals take from tourists.
MARCH 2026
CNBC
March 25, 2026
UK government to trial social media ban for hundreds of teens
The study is co-led by University of Cambridge psychologist Professor Amy Orben and Bradford Institute for Health Research, and will include around 4,000 students between the ages of 12 and 15 from 10 schools.
Smithsonian Magazine
March 12, 2026
The Egyptians Used an Ancient Version of Wite-Out to Correct Their Mistakes on This Papyrus Scroll 3,300 Years Ago
Coverage reporting that the Fitzwilliam Museum has discovered evidence of the use of an ancient Egyptian correction fluid, or ‘Tipp-Ex’ as it is now often known, on 3,000-year-old papyrus.
The New York Times
March 11, 2026
Slowly, Slowly, ‘Darwin’s Finches of the Snail World’ Return From Near Extinction
Coverage of the successful rescue initiative that saved Partula snails from extinction. The collaboration involved Dr Justin Gerlach (Peterhouse).
Scientific American
March 3, 2026
Are prime numbers hiding inside black holes?
Professor Sean Hartnoll (Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics/Clare College) speaks about how formulas based on prime numbers can describe features of black holes.
FEBRUARY 2026
People
February 28, 2026
Students Make ‘Extraordinary Discovery’ of Viking-Era ‘Execution Pit’ with Human Remains During Archaeological Training Dig
Coverage of the Department of Archaeology training dig that found the aftermath of a 9th-century execution at Wandlebury.
NBC News
February 15, 2026
'First feline' Larry marks 15 years as Britain's political top cat
Professor Philip Howell (Geography/Emmanuel College) says Larry the cat embodies British soft power in feline form, and “represents stability”.
Click here for Cambridge in North American News in 2025.