Early cancer diagnosis, hidden high blood pressure, a ‘spooky’ quantum effect and more...

new feed updates notifications Home Network Jobs Messaging Notifications Muhammad Sheikh Ramzan Hossain Me For Business Advertise Newsletter Logo Research and innovation news 777,549 subscribers Subscribed Early cancer diagnosis, hidden high blood pressure, a ‘spooky’ quantum effect and more... University of Oxford 1,614,746 followers October 1, 2026 Welcome to this month’s research and innovation newsletter, featuring the latest news and developments at the University of Oxford. Oxford is world-famous for research excellence and home to some of the most talented people from across the globe. Our work helps the lives of millions, solving real-world problems through a huge network of partnerships and collaborations. The breadth and interdisciplinary nature of our research sparks imaginative and inventive insights and solutions. Two-thirds of adults with high blood pressure do not know they have it Close-up of a healthcare professional measuring a person’s blood pressure using an inflatable arm cuff and manual pressure gauge. More than one-third of adults in England have high blood pressure and two-thirds of these are unaware of their diagnosis according to a new Oxford study of 1.4 million adults. The study also reported that only half of adults with high blood pressure treated by a doctor are adequately controlled. Find out more about hypertension awareness New method reveals how virus particles can build themselves, molecule by molecule Digital illustration of the varicella-zoster virus, showing a large spherical virus particle covered in colourful surface proteins within a cellular environment. Oxford researchers have captured the step-by-step assembly of individual virus-like particles, revealing how simple molecular interactions can reliably build these complex biological structures. Understanding how viruses assemble – and what can disrupt this process – could ultimately help researchers design novel antiviral treatments, as well as engineer vaccines and other therapies. Read more about the research into how viruses build themselves Blood tests could identify early signs of cancer years before diagnosis A man seated in a medical chair having a blood sample taken from his arm by a healthcare professional wearing gloves. A study of blood samples collected up to nine years before a cancer diagnosis found changes in the DNA that captured the body’s response to early traces of cancer development. Cancer remains the second leading cause of death globally, with deaths often resulting from a late diagnosis. When cancers are detected early, treatment is more likely to be successful and patients have a better chance of surviving. Read more about how blood tests could support future cancer screening Scientists observe Einstein’s gravity in the quantum world Abstract illustration of quantum gravity, with glowing blue and pink waves and particles curving through space against a dark background. An international team including Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Sir Roger Penrose has observed a long-predicted effect of gravity on a falling quantum object for the first time. The result shows that a fundamental principle at the heart of Einstein’s theory of gravity remains consistent with the behaviour of matter in the quantum world. In the study, the researchers observed a distinctive change in the quantum properties of atoms as they fell under gravity. Crucially, the effect they measured is the same one predicted when Einstein’s equivalence principle, a cornerstone of his theory of gravity, is applied to a quantum object. Read more about Einstein's theory of gravity in the quantum world Oxford physicists help uncover ‘spooky’ quantum effect in the Large Hadron Collider Abstract illustration of quantum entanglement, with two glowing particles surrounded by intertwined pink and blue trails of light. Oxford physicists have helped confirm that one of the strangest phenomena in physics - quantum entanglement - occurs even among some of the heaviest and most fleeting particles ever created. Entanglement is the phenomenon in which two particles from the same origin remain connected, even if they move far apart in time and space. If something affects one particle, it will also affect all the particles with which it is entangled. Albert Einstein famously called entanglement ‘spooky action at a distance'. Read more about the 'spooky' quantum effect