Unecto calls time

Unecto, the student-focused social media company, has announced that it is to stop operating. Set up in 2023 by a group of St Andrew’s University students, the app promised to help students to build “intra-inter university relationships and bonds,” and redefine communication at university. Despite offering selling points such as in-app collectibles, a statement on the company’s Instagram account admitted that “continued funding,” had been “hard to justify”. In the statement, the Unecto team thanked Cambridge students for their “engagement, energy and word-of-mouth”. At the time of writing (3/8), Unecto was still available for download on Google Play and the App store, but the app would not progress past an initial loading screen.

Reaching out, touching me, touching you...

Researchers at the Fitzwilliam Museum have uncovered a 4000-year-old human handprint as part of their preparation work for an upcoming exhibition. The handprint was discovered on the underside of a “soul house” – small clay models, often shaped like buildings, which the museum says were “placed in tombs to hold food offerings such as bread, lettuce and ox heads”. While traces of fingerprints have been occasionally found on other ancient artefacts, the exhibition’s curator said that it was “rare and exciting to find a complete handprint underneath this soul house,” and that the discovery could “shed new light on how it [the soul box] was made 4,000 years ago”.

Bare necessities?

Four men were spotted cycling stark naked through Cambridge on Saturday (02/08), leaving onlookers bewildered. A photo shared on the Facebook group Odd Things Around Cambridge was captioned with "it's naked bike ride day,” suggesting this is an annual occurrence. Whether part of an organised event or just a spontaneous stunt, it seems the mild summer heat has persuaded some to travel light – very light, indeed.

An exhibition to Discover

The Grand Arcade shopping centre has launched a new exhibition focusing on scientific discoveries that have happened in Cambridge, as well as the famous scientists who have worked in the city. The exhibition began at the end of July, and runs until 25th September. Taking place across the arcade, the exhibition takes place in partnership with the central University of Cambridge, as its Polar Museum and Institute of Astronomy. As part of the exhibition, the Grand Arcade has placed several large sculptures to represent Cambridge innovations from DNA to the Raspberry Pi, as well as hosting events such “Bricks of Biology,” focussing on building human cells with Lego, and “The Great Alien Hunt,” exploring the search for life beyond Earth.