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The mutations we have found are well known as 'cancer mutations'. However, in cancers they are found with numerous other genetic changes, while here they are apparently in isolation." —Robert Semple A rare genetic disease which causes some parts of the body to grow excessively has been linked to a cancer-associated mutation that drives cell growth, potentially paving the way for new treatments.

The purpose of our study was to see if whole genome sequencing of MRSA could be used to distinguish between related strains at a genome level, and if this would inform and guide outbreak investigations." —Professor Sharon Peacock, lead author from the University of Cambridge In a new study released today in New England Journal of Medicine, researchers demonstrate that whole genome sequencing can provide clinically relevant data on bacterial transmission within a timescale that can influence infection control and patient management.

It all started with the observation of a beetle seeking shelter under a N. gracilis lid during a tropical rainstorm. Instead of finding a safe - and dry - place to rest, the beetle ended up in the pitcher fluid, captured by the plant." —Dr Ulrike Bauer from the University of Cambridge's Department of Plant Sciences During heavy rain, the lid of Nepenthes gracilis pitchers acts like a springboard, catapulting insects that seek shelter on its underside directly into the fluid-filled pitcher, new research has found.

A year-long study on children's music-making indicates that playing music in groups on a regular basis greatly improves a child's ability to empathise with others.

How can we make nuclear waste safe for millennia? Fundamental research led by the University of Cambridge will help find the answers. Our aim is to predict the chemical alteration of the fuel for ages between 1,000 and 100,000 years, which spans the lifetime of the disposal canisters." —Dr Ian Farnan The timescale for keeping hazardous nuclear waste isolated from living organisms is unimaginably long, with times specified by nuclear regulators in Europe and the USA ranging from 10,000 to 1,000,000 years.

A long-sought "echo" of light that promises to reveal more about supersized black holes in distant galaxies has been identified by an international team of astronomers. —Abderahmen Zoghbi The findings open up new opportunities for scientists trying to map and understand what happens on the brink of "active galactic nuclei", or AGNs; monster black holes that exist at the heart of most big galaxies.

Many of our common garden flowers have beautiful conical cells if you look closely - roses have rounded conical petal cells while petunias have really long cells, giving petunia flowers an almost velvety appearance, particularly visible in the dark-coloured varieties." —Dr Beverley Glover As gardeners get busy filling tubs and borders with colourful bedding plants, scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol have discovered more about what makes flowers attractive to bees rather than humans.

We believe that as organisms had to buffer against rhythmic free radicals, they developed 24 hour oscillations in the peroxiredoxin proteins to protect themselves at appropriate times of the day. These cycles appear to have become so important that they became autonomous." —Dr Akhilesh Reddy, from the Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge A metabolic protein involved in circadian rhythms has been found in all three domains of cellular life (bacteria, archaea and eukaryote), new research reveals.

Our reconstruction demonstrates that the old idea, often seen in popular books and museum displays, of Ichthyostega looking and walking like a large salamander, with four sturdy legs, is incorrect." —Professor Jennifer Clack An ancient four-limbed creature that's thought to be the first ever to walk on land couldn't actually walk at all, researchers have discovered.

Population studies on a vast scale are providing the power to provide accurate risk assessment - and intervention - into cardiovascular disease. —Professor John Danesh Scientists have learned a great deal about the risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), the group of conditions that includes heart disease and stroke and which kills one in three people in the UK, through studying the health of large numbers of people.

Other proteins made by the body can enhance heat production in brown fat, such as thyroid hormone but often these proteins have important effects in other organs too. Therefore they are not good targets for developing new weight loss treatments.

Our research clearly shows that the original founder population of domestic horses was established in the western Eurasian Steppe, an area where the earliest archaeological evidence for domesticated horses has been found." —Dr Vera Warmuth, from the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology New research indicates that domestic horses originated in the steppes of modern-day Ukraine, southwest Russia and west Kazakhstan, mixing with local wild stocks as they spread throughout Europe and Asia.

Our results show, for the first time, that certain areas of atherosclerosis within the coronary arteries, previously thought to be inert, are actually highly active and have the potential to cause heart attack. Once identified, they might be targeted with drug therapy more effectively." —Dr James Rudd, HEFCE Senior Lecturer at the Department of Medicine Building on work pioneered in Cambridge 10 years ago , scientists have developed a new imaging approach that could help improve how doctors predict a patient's risk of having a heart attack.

Understanding how these bacteria invade, survive, proliferate and kill vital macrophage cells provides a wealth of knowledge to help improve our health." —Dr Clare Bryant Using real-time video microscopy, coupled with mathematical modelling, scientists have changed our assumptions about Salmonella and how it infects human cells.

New technique has important implications for stem cell research and the development of regenerative medicines.

As we age, we all lose grey matter. However, what we have seen is that chronic cocaine users lose grey matter at a significantly faster rate, which could be a sign of premature ageing.

Researchers have identified 10 different types of the disease, laying groundwork for more effective, targeted treatment plans.

It has long been believed that coming down from the trees was a crucial evolutionary shift. The behaviour of these chimpanzees suggests a more deep-seated, gradual transition." —Kathelijne Koops The first study into rarely-documented ground nest-building by wild chimpanzees has offered new clues about the ancient transition of early hominins - our "human-like" ancestors  - from sleeping in trees to sleeping on the ground.

Scientists have created a simple new model of the human brain which reproduces the statistics of its complex network organization. Our model hints at possible mechanisms behind schizophrenia, which will be interesting to investigate further." —Dr Petra Vertes Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a simple mathematical model of the brain which provides a remarkably complete statistical account of the complex web of connections between various brain regions.

As the current work shows, future sequence-guided clinical trials will require collaborations between major cancer centres, such as Cambridge and Vancouver, which are able to recruit the required numbers of patients from an increasingly better defined disease.