Week Ending March 18 2005 - Synopsis number 640

University of Dundee News

Universities welcome rise in funding
The Universities in Dundee and St Andrews have all received a funding increase, with more than £100 million awarded to the three institutes for teaching and research in the next academic year.
The Courier 18.03.05

Space study centre launch
Dundee has become a major international centre for space travel research, a fact that will be recognised today when UK minister for science and innovation Lord Sainsbury opens Dundee University's new Space Technology Centre.
The Courier 18.03.05

Will we see his like again?
Fifty years ago today, Sir Alexander Fleming, widely regarded as the discoverer of penicillin, was given the kind of funeral reserved for national heroes, his ashes interred near those of Nelson and Wellington in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral. The story of his chance discovery, that a mould on a neglected petri dish had stemmed the growth of staphylococcus bacteria, has tended to eclipse the part played by Howard Florey, Ernst Chain and Norman Heatley, who followed up Fleming's original paper and isolated the precious antibiotic - Fleming, Florey and Chain shared the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1945. Nevertheless the Ayrshire-born Fleming’s place has been assured in the pantheon of Scottish medical pioneers, along with the likes of Sir James Young Simpson (anaesthetics), Joseph Lister (antiseptics), JJR MacLeod (insulin) and, more recently, another Nobel Prize winner Sir James Black (beta-blockers).
The Scotsman 18.03.05

Scientists' chance to impress
Top Dundee scientists were yesterday given the chance to present their cutting-edge research to some of the world's biggest bio-technology brains.
The Courier 18.03.05

International audience for Dundee boffins
As above
Evening Telegraph 17.03.05

Prudent pitch for that golden prize
Students from Dundee University talk about how the budget outcome will affect the way they vote.
The Herald 17.03.05

Budget 2005
Lamine Lachhab, a third-year student at Dundee University gives his view of the Budget.
Press & Journal 17.03.05

Call for third dental school in Scotland
Despite Dundee Dental School taking in more students than ever before as the lack of dentists has become chronic in some parts of Scotland, new figures revealed that for every student accepted at Dundee, six are turned away.
The Courier 17.03.05

Students collect art awards
Students from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee, won five prizes at the RSA Student Exhibition in Edinburgh, which finishes today.
The Courier 17.03.05

Film and TV event at DCA
A sculptor and special effects maestro was the guest speaker at a networking event for people working in the film and TV industry in Dundee last night. Morag McLean is a former Duncan of Jordanstone student.
The Courier 17.03.05

Population expected to keep falling
Dundee's already declining population is expected to drop by another 21,000 in the next dozen years. Research shows that, compared to other university cities, a higher proportion of students leave Dundee after completing their studies rather than staying to find employment.
The Courier 17.03.05

Population of Dundee: projected 21,000 drop
As above
Evening Telegraph 16.03.05

Spinning yarns
An exhibition at Dundee University charts the change which saw an entire industry displaced, and shows that, while the work may have been moved away, much of the wealth continued to flow back to Dundee for decades.
The Courier 16.03.05

Centre lures cancer scientist
A Dundee-born cancer scientist will return to his native city later this year attracted by the "superb" research and experimental facilities on offer at Dundee University's new Centre for Interdisciplinary Research.
The Courier 16.03.05

No title
A play dealing with the intelligence of robots was staged at Dundee University last night. The Tom Sgouros play, Judy the Robot, had its only Dundee performance at the Bonar Hall.
The Courier 16.03.05

No title
Dean of life sciences at Dundee University Professor Pete Downes presents pupils of Madras College, St Andrews with the Royal College of Chemistry's Top of The Bench trophy after the regional finals last night.
The Courier 16.03.05

Talks and films to raise student awareness of G8
Students from Dundee University are to hold a five-day programme of action next week to raise awareness of alternative ideas and discussions to the G8 conference, to be held in Gleneagles Hotel in July.
The Courier 16.03.05

Dundee students' G8 plans
As above
Evening Telegraph 15.03.05

Now Fulbright scholar
Simon Reekie, well known artist and graduate of the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, has been awarded a prestigious $45,000 Fulbright postgraduate scholarship.
The Courier 15.03.05

Scholarship takes Dundee artist stateside
As above
Press & Journal 15.03.05

Scholarship for Simon
As above
Evening Telegraph 14.03.05

Claims that overseas students take priority
Dundee University denied that an influx of high-paying overseas students may have made it harder for local teenagers to find a much-sought-after place in the institution's highly-regarded medical school.
The Courier 15.03.05

The diet that has beaten my diabetes
Brian Cox, 58, is one of Britain's leading Hollywood actors. Diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes seven years ago abd fearing he would die early, he embarked on a strict diet which has almost cured him. I still return to my home town of Dundee regularly and have launched a campaign to raise money for a £20 million research centre there, looking into cures for diabetes and malaria. The Centre for Inter-Disciplinary Research at Dundee University will house 180 scientists and is due to open in July.
Daily Mail 15.03.05

Cosmonauts to report on space
Two leading members of a Russian cosmonaut team will be touching down in Tayside next week as part of a ground mission to inform people about life in space. Members of the public will have the opportunity to find out about a manned mission to Mars at a presentation on Monday March 21, at 7pm in the Tower Lecture Theatre, University of Dundee.
The Courier 15.03.05

Cosmonauts touch down in Tayside
As above
Evening Telegraph 14.03.05

Chemicals in healthy foods 'make children seriously ill'
Research by Scottish scientists has established for the first time a definite link between sulphites and chronic bowel disorders in children. Professor John Cummings, a gastric specialist at Ninewells, said: "sulphites can trigger asthma in some people and they also destroy Thiamine in the B vitamins in food, which is essential for keeping harmful bacteria in the stomach at bay."
Daily Mail 14.03.05

Waging war on Cancer
The Monday Interview - Dr Jacqui Wood.
The Courier 14.03.05

Wisdom of the Sands
Professor Simon Unwin delivered a lecture entitled Wisdom of the Sands: Architecture In Informal Landscapes, at Dundee University on Saturday evening.
The Courier 14.03.05

Success for Students on Screen
Craig Wilson, from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, and Dan Wilson from Abertay University won the No Boundaries and Interactive categories at eth Scottish Student on Screen ceremony, which took place in Glasgow.
The Courier 14.03.05

Nobel Scot warns study of sciences is in crisis
Scotland's only living Nobel Prize winner has warned that the nation's scientific development is in crisis as a result of student loans and low educational funding.
The Scotsman 14.03.05

Scientific development in crisis, warns Scots Nobel Prize winner
As above
Sunday Herald 13.03.05

...and where did the Scots scientists go?
This country was once a leading light in science. Now it seems impossible to entice either teacher or student to embrace it. The number of applications to physics and chemistry degrees at Scottish universities has fallen even faster. The chemistry course at Robert Gordon University was closed in 2003. Dundee changed its degree to make it more specifically vocational.
Sunday Times 13.03.05

From subtle to dynamic
Someone said to me at yesterday's lunchtime concert in Dundee University Chaplaincy that you can get too much Mozart and Beethoven at these events. I do not think you can get too much of these two anywhere, especially in the hands of an accomplished pianist like Valerie Maynes.
The Courier 12.03.05

Lintarre Duo entertain
The combination of guitar and violin is a tried and tested one. There is a vast amount of music available to such a pairing and at Thursday's concert in the university chaplaincy centre, the audience were given a varied selection by the Lintarre Duo.
The Courier 12.03.05

University of Dundee Radio, TV & online

Space Technology Centre opens at University of Dundee
Lord Sainsbury, UK Minister for Science and Innovation will officially open the University of Dundee’s new Space Technology Centre that will carry out advanced research into planetary landing simulators and develop support technology for many space missions.
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/physics_astronomy/report-41965.html 18.03.05

Space Technology Centre opens at University of Dundee
Prof Steve Parkes talks about the opening of the Space Technology Centre.
Wave 102 18.03.05

Space Technology Centre opens at University of Dundee
As above
Real Radio 18.03.05

Universities welcome rise in funding
David Duncan, University of Dundee Secretary, talks about the increase of funding to the University.
Radio Tay 18.03.05

Space centre ready for take-off
Dundee University is to boldly go where no other higher education establishment has gone before. Its new Space Technology Centre will be launched on Friday and use some of the most advanced technology in Europe to develop space travel techniques.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4359829.stm 17.03.05

C-section unlikely to up depression risk
In the new study, Deirdre J. Murphy of the University of Dundee in Scotland and her colleagues asked more than 14,000 pregnant women to complete a questionnaire eight weeks after giving birth to assess their mental health.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/11130681.htm 16.03.05

University of Abertay

Scientist's fairy story
Professor Brian Goodwin, from the Schmacher Institute in Milton Keynes, was delivering a public lecture for National Science Week at the Abertay University.
The Courier 17.03.05

University of St Andrews

Multi-million pound deal for university
St Andrews University has sold one of the most distinctive and best-known properties in the town, the Victorian student residence of Hamilton Hall, in a multi-million pound deal with an American development company.
The Courier 17.03.05

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