15 May 2017

From operating table to Degree Show in six painful weeks

The annual Degree Show is always a special time for art and design students, the culmination of several years of hard work and the opportunity to showcase the fruits of their creative labours to an audience of thousands. For Amy Crawford, this year’s University of Dundee Art, Design and Architecture Degree Show takes on special significance as it comes just six weeks after she nearly died of sepsis. After several days’ illness, Amy was in such severe pain that she was unable to stand by the time she arrived at the out-of-hours doctor service in Dundee at the start of April. The 22-year-old fr...

15 May 2017

Dundee pupils to get free colouring book to celebrate influential text

School pupils from throughout Dundee are to be given a free colouring book that celebrates the work of the University of Dundee’s first Professor of Biology. The book will mark 100 years since D’Arcy Thompson’s influential book, ‘On Growth and Form’, was published. Produced during his time at the University, it remains widely admired by biologists, anthropologists and architects. Literary Dundee has joined forces with the University of Dundee’s Museum Services to create the colouring book, which has been designed by Illustration graduate, Gavin Rutherford. D’Arc...

12 May 2017

A mother’s touch may help to bond with unborn babies

Babies may be able to recognise their mother’s touch while still in the womb, helping them to bond even before birth, according to new research carried out at the University of Dundee. Researchers from the University’s Psychology department used 4D ultrasound videos to record the reaction of unborn children when different people touching their mother’s stomach during pregnancy. They found that babies were most likely to reach out and touch the wall of the uterus when their mother caressed her bump. The response was nowhere near as strong when strangers or even the child’s father r...

12 May 2017

International eHealth prize for `My Diabetes My Way’

A major international prize for eHealth has been awarded to a project developed at the University of Dundee which allows people with diabetes across Scotland to access their medical records online, support their self-management and improve their knowledge of their condition. My Diabetes My Way, the diabetes online platform created by University of Dundee for NHS Scotland, was given the eHealth Adoption Award at the eHealth Week 2017 conference being held in Malta this week.  “This is a major honour for the University and Scotland’s health system,” said Dr Deborah Wake, Clinical Sen...

12 May 2017

Scientists unlock secret of chromosome copier

University of Dundee scientists have solved a mystery concerning one of the most fundamental processes in cell biology, in a new discovery that they hope may help to tackle cancer one day. The process by which cells copy their own chromosomes and then make new cells is vital to all of life. Chromosomes contain the genetic blueprint that makes us what we are and this information must be copied perfectly for new cells to survive and carry out their function. When the copying process goes wrong, it can lead to cancer as abnormal cells are created. Proteins in the cell combine to build a molecular ‘mac...