4 Dec 2017

‘Ghostbusters-style’ optical traps enable researchers to study living cells

University of Dundee researchers have created optical traps – described as microscopic equivalents of the proton pack in Ghostbusters – that enable scientists to manipulate minuscule objects and study the mechanics of cells and bio-molecules deep inside living organisms. An optical trap is a tightly focused laser beam that can be used to confine and manipulate microscopic objects such as cells, bacteria and strands of DNA, typically in aqueous media. Whilst they are not themselves new, Dundee researchers used holographic beam-shaping to deploy such traps for the first time through hair-thin op...

1 Dec 2017

University to show old movies to mark an end of 50th Anniversary celebrations

Footage of the Queen Mother being installed as the University of Dundee’s first chancellor and Stephen Fry’s hilarious rectorial address will be screened at an event next week. The University’s Archives team have been busy digging out a fascinating collection of films from times gone by. The clips will be shown in the D’Arcy Thompson Lecture Theatre on Thursday 7 December. ‘The Way We Were: the University on Film’ also includes footage from the 1930s, when the institution was part of the University of St Andrews. University Archivist Caroline Brown said, “We wan...

30 Nov 2017

University tackles period poverty

Students and staff at the University of Dundee will make 10,000 sanitary products freely available to raise awareness of the issue of period poverty. Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA) and the University’s Student Services are combining their efforts to provide the items this Friday, ahead of a Scottish Government commitment to supply free sanitary products across schools, colleges and universities next year. Sharon Sweeney, Student Funding Officer, said, “It is crucial that the University supports an initiative that means women do not have to forego their dignity or health ...

29 Nov 2017

Threats and opportunities for ‘Renewables After Brexit’

Delegates at a major University of Dundee conference later this week will hear how Brexit has the potential to derail Scotland’s prospering renewable energy industry. The warning will come from Professor Peter Cameron, Director of the University’s Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, when he addresses the ‘Renewables After Brexit’ event at the Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, on Friday 1 December. Former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond will deliver a keynote speech at the conference, which will see experts from the renewables, legal, financial and poli...

29 Nov 2017

New comic tells the story of fibromyalgia

A series of comics designed to inform the public about common but poorly understood conditions launches this week with the first edition focusing on fibromyalgia. Writers, comic artists and health professionals from the University of Dundee and NHS Tayside will celebrate the publication of ‘Fibromyalgia and Us’ this Friday. The new comic explores the long-term condition which can often cause intense pain and/or fatigue all over the body and the impact it can have on individual patients and their families. Written by those living with this condition, in collaboration with a doctor and physiot...