An understudied group of bacteria in our gut microbiome appears to play a central role in keeping us healthy, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge.

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) welcomes Professor Ngô Bảo Châu, recipient of the 2010 Fields Medal, to join the Department of Mathematics under the Faculty of Science, commencing June 2026. Professor Ngô earned global recognition for his groundbreaking proof of the fundamental lemma in the Langlands Programme, a monumental achievement that solved a three-decade-old mathematical challenge and was named one of Time magazine's Top 10 Scientific Discoveries of 2009.

The noise that disrupts communication devices and sensors results from electrons being scattered by defects and temperature-driven vibrations in the materials they travel through.

A UCLA-led research team demonstrated that minuscule wires made from two unconventional materials can potentially reduce noise below the lowest level possible in traditional electronics.

These findings not only hold the potential to improve current technologies but also suggest possibilities in quantum computing.

A study in Risk Sciences examines whether alternative “big data” and the LASSO variable-selection method can strengthen health risk assessment in critical illness insurance. Using insurer application and claims records alongside smartphone-derived signals and public medical-claim information, the researchers report clear gains in out-of-sample predictive performance beyond traditional underwriting inputs. The paper also explores which categories of data may be most informative for underwriting.