First distributed quantum algorithm brings quantum supercomputers closer

The breakthrough addresses quantum’s ‘scalability problem’: a quantum computer powerful enough to be industry-disrupting would have to be capable of processing millions of qubits. Packing all these processors in a single device, however, would require a machine of an immense size. In this new approach, small quantum devices are linked…

Oxford researchers urge reforms to improve global wildlife trade regulation as CITES turns 50

Billions of people worldwide depend on wild species for food security, livelihoods, income generation, and well-being. Achieving long-term sustainability in the trade and use of wild species is a key global priority—not only for conservation but also to support the billions of people who rely on these species. CITES (the…

Expert Comment: How is generative AI transforming the labour market?

Dr Fabian Braesemann. Credit: University of Oxford. We are seeing the beginnings of a possibly fundamental economic transformation due to the widespread adoption of generative AI tools in many sectors. Facing the impressive capabilities of AI tools in solving demanding cognitive tasks, many have expressed worries about potential job losses…

Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt appointed to the UK Government’s Council for Science and Technology

The Council for Science and Technology is formed of 19 independent members who are made up of senior figures from the fields of science, engineering and technology. Professor Shadbolt joins seven other new members who will advise the Prime Minister and Cabinet on strategic science and technology policy issues that…

IKEA Foundation pledges £2 million to Oxford initiative championing refugee leadership

The RLRH launched in 2020 to address the lack of refugee-authored scholarship and under-representation of refugees and displaced people in higher education, particularly at graduate level. By providing access to training, mentorship and funding, the RLRH aims to redistribute power and opportunity to researchers and students from displacement backgrounds so…

Researchers develop new method to identify fake Covid-19 vaccines

The new method, published in npj Vaccines, analyses the vaccine vial label and its adhesive and therefore allows the vaccine vials to be retained in the supply chain. Furthermore, the study has shown that the technique can also differentiate genuine Covid-19 vaccine liquid from falsified vaccine surrogates, using a recently…

Early support for children living in marginalised communities can improve developmental outcomes

The Omama study, undertaken by Dr Michelle Fernandes and the F1000 research group, focused on Roma children living in poor communities in Eastern Slovakia who are subjected to the “triple threat” of poverty, stunting and early developmental delays, with many prevented from achieving their full developmental potential by age five…

Oxford shares ambitious plans to support transformative social and economic change locally

Beyond Town and Gown: Working Towards a More Inclusive Oxford outlines the collegiate University's commitment to making a positive contribution and creating opportunities for all in the city and county.    A new report detailing Oxford University’s ambitious plans to support positive social, economic and environmental change in the city and county has…

Oxford and GSK launch £50million immuno-prevention programme to advance novel cancer research

The agreement establishes the GSK-Oxford Cancer Immuno-Prevention Programme, aimed at exploring the potential of cancer prevention through vaccination.The programme leverages the complementary expertise of GSK and Oxford in the science of the immune system, vaccine development and cancer biology. It is hoped that the insights generated through the programme into…

Study shows plants are more likely to be ‘eavesdroppers’ than altruists when tapping into underground networks

Our results indicate that it is more likely that plants will behave deceptively toward their neighbours, rather than altruistically...Plants can gain a benefit from dishonest signalling because it harms their local competitors, by tricking them into investing in costly herbivore defence mechanisms.Lead author Dr Thomas Scott, (Department of Biology, University of…

Oxford researchers advocate for comprehensive framework to study AI’s impact on youth mental health

Young people are already adopting new ways of interacting with AI, and without a solid framework for collaboration between stakeholders, evidence-based policy on AI will lag behind, as it did for social media. Dr. Karen Mansfield, postdoctoral researcher at OIIIn a new paper published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, the research team…

Wellcome Discovery Award of £5m to fund pioneering research to combat deadly diarrhoea

Current meta-genomic epidemiology can be expensive, time consuming, and complex. As we set up our international hubs, we hope to train a new generation of scientists equipped with knowledge of genomic surveillance that will have impact beyond the lifetime of the grant.Professor Sam Sheppard, Ineos Oxford InstituteDiarrhoeal disease is responsible…

The Global Health Network reaches 1 million members

Every day, millions suffer from preventable and treatable diseases that disproportionately affect underserved communities. At the same time, the threat of the next global outbreak looms large. The Global Health Network is transforming how these challenges are met by empowering all levels of healthcare workers with the skills, tools, and…

BMI, blood pressure and physical activity levels in childhood linked to brain differences

Obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure) and physical inactivity are known to be cardiovascular risk factors for dementia in middle age but, so far, little is known about these links between heart and brain health much earlier in life.Researchers led by a team at the University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry,…

Oxford researchers develop blood test to enable early detection of multiple cancers

Named TriOx, this innovative test analyses multiple features of DNA in the blood to identify subtle signs of cancer, which could offer a fast, sensitive and minimally invasive alternative to current detection methods.The study, published in Nature Communications, showed that TriOx accurately detected cancer (including in its early stages) across…

First patients scanned in new study investigating traumatic brain injury in young athletes

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and long-term disability in young people. However, research in this area remains limited in particular due to a lack of data concerning head injuries sustained by the young population. An innovative longitudinal study designed and conducted by The Podium Institute…

Professor James Binney awarded Royal Astronomical Society’s Gold Medal

Professor Binney follows in the footsteps of Arthur Eddington, Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, Stephen Hawking, and Jocelyn Bell Burnell in receiving the Society’s highest honour, which dates back 200 years. Since 1964, two Gold Medals have been awarded each year: one for astronomy, and one for geophysics.Professor Binney said: ‘I am…

Pioneering new mathematical model could help protect privacy and ensure safer use of AI

For the first time, the method provides a robust scientific framework for evaluating identification techniques, especially when dealing with large-scale data. This could include, for instance, monitoring how accurate advertising code and invisible trackers are at identifying online users from small pieces of information such as time zone or browser…

Logged tropical forests are still valuable for biodiversity, study finds

A researcher measures a small mammal. Image credit: Ed Turner. Understanding how different aspects of tropical forests are affected by logging and conversion to oil palm plantations is important for identifying priority habitats for conservation and restoration. It can also help aid decisions on land use – for instance, whether…

New Year Honours 2025

Professor Alison Etheridge DBE FRS, Professor of Probability at Oxford’s Department of Statistics, has been appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to Mathematical Sciences. Much of her work focuses on infinite dimensional stochastic processes and their applications. Most recently her central interest has…

Owning a home linked to longer life in the US

Dr Casey Breen, Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Oxford University’s Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and Department of Sociology, conducted the study, published in Demography. The study found that homeownership was associated with 0.36 years of additional life expectancy for Black male Americans who were born in the early twentieth…

New study reveals the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on other causes of death

Researchers from the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, Australian National University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, analysed cause-of-death data for 24 countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.The researchers found that life expectancy declined in 2020 for all but four of the 24 included countries, with…

Researchers develop a way to test the ability of red blood cells to deliver oxygen by measuring their shape

FlowScore - a formula developed at Oxford University in collaboration with NHS Blood and Transplant - predicts how quickly red blood cells release their oxygen. This process is important for oxygenating the body’s tissues, including organs and muscles, particularly in people receiving large transfusions.Healthy fresh red blood cells have a…

New study calls for radical rethink of mental health support for adolescents

The study, led by teams at the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, found that adolescents access a variety of different types of support including informal (such as friends and family), semi-formal (like school-based support), and formal services (such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).While support from friends…

Botanists name a beautiful new species of ‘lipstick vine’ discovered in the Philippine rainforest

Suddenly we spotted a luminous white, purple-spotted flower dangling above our heads. We suspected immediately that it was new to science. It’s so exciting that beautiful species like this are still there waiting to be described.Dr Chris Thorogood, Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum and Department of BiologyThe group made the…

The genetic basis of fertility, family and longevity

Led by researchers from the University of Oxford’s Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and the University of Iceland, the review explores how genetic variations can explain differences in reproductive health and longevity.The study provides the most comprehensive review of male and female genetic discoveries of reproductive traits to date, and…

Oxford and partners lead on two new MRC Centres to create cutting-edge gene therapies

The Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UKRI, is launching its first two Centres of Research Excellence (CoRE), which will develop transformative new advanced therapeutics for currently untreatable diseases. Oxford is leading one of these Centres and co-leading the other. Together, these international collaborations will receive up to £50 million…

New project aims to transform how wildlife trade is monitored and managed

Unsustainable wildlife use and trade imperils thousands of species and is a major contributor towards current unprecedented rates of global biodiversity loss. Establishing effective controls on wildlife trade is an urgent priority, however this is hindered by rapidly evolving markets, opaque supply chains, and inadequate resources for enforcement.This new collaboration,…

Study shows that chimpanzees perform the same complex behaviours that have brought humans success

Our results suggest that the sequences of actions that wild chimpanzees use to perform their tool-use behaviours share many properties with those of humans, and so likely evolved before the last common ancestors of humans and chimps. Lead researcher Dr Elliot Howard-SpinkMany human behaviours are more complex than those of other…

Oxford University to lead AI security research through new national laboratory partnership

Announced at the recent NATO Cyber Defence Conference, LASR will bring together industry, academic, and government experts to boost Britain’s cyber resilience and support growth. Leading researchers from Oxford University’s Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) Division and Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre will work alongside partner institutions, government bodies, and…

Novo Nordisk announces £18.5 million of funding for a further 20 Postdoctoral Fellows

Leading global healthcare company Novo Nordisk has deepened its partnership with the University of Oxford by announcing £18.5 million of funding for a further 20 Postdoctoral Fellows in this prestigious scientific research programme, over the next nine years. This expanded collaboration also introduces an innovative ‘Springboard Fellowship’, which offers selected…

Lord Hague of Richmond elected as new Chancellor of Oxford University

Lord Hague will be formally inaugurated as Chancellor early in the New Year and serve for a term of 10 years. He becomes the 160th recorded Chancellor in the University’s history, a role that dates back at least 800 years.Lord Hague, the Chancellor-elect, said: ‘Thank you to my fellow Oxonians for…

Sheldonian Series launches with an energetic and open exchange of views on ‘Democracy’

A large audience of staff, students and alumni enjoyed lively debate on the subject of ‘Democracy’ for the University’s inaugural Sheldonian Series event at the Sheldonian Theatre on Monday 25 November.In an unprecedented year for global democratic elections, and just a few weeks after the US presidential election, those in attendance examined…

Men more willing than women to accept robot care in old age, Oxford study finds

The study, published in the journal Community, Work and Family, assesses people's attitudes towards having robots caring for oneself, providing services and companionship, when one is infirm or elderly.  The study draws on data from 28 European countries, factoring in local determinants such as GDP, women’s labour force participation rates,…

Ethiopian wolves reported to feed on nectar for the first time

New findings, published in the journal Ecology, describe a previously undocumented behaviour of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis). For the first time, these have been reported to feed on the nectar of Ethiopian red hot poker flowers (Kniphofia foliosa) – the first large carnivore species ever to be documented feeding on…

New study reveals the explosive secret of the squirting cucumber

The squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium, from the Greek ‘ekballein,’ meaning to throw out) is named for the ballistic method the species uses to disperse its seeds. When ripe, the ovoid-shaped fruits detach from the stem and eject the seeds explosively in a high-pressure jet of mucilage. This projectile launch –…