16 Dec 2014
Generosity leads to diabetes donation
A request by a pair of Perth Ramblers for friends not to give them any birthday presents but to make a donation to diabetes research instead has raised over £300. Stewart Inglis and Jean Sharp, who are both members of the Ramblers group in Perth, recently celebrated their 70th and 80th birthdays respectively and were joined by friends to help celebrate the milestone events. “Both of us had the same idea that rather than receiving presents we would be happier seeing the money spent going towards a good cause,” said Mr Inglis. “I am diabetic myself and know the great work the staff ...
16 Dec 2014
New insights into why people get side effects with the most commonly prescribed diabetes drug
A study by the University of Dundee has revealed why some patients taking the most commonly prescribed diabetes drug are susceptible to suffering gastrointestinal side effects. Researchers say their findings suggest patients who are suffering side effects from taking metformin should review their prescribed treatment with their GP. Metformin is the medication of choice for most patients with type 2 diabetes and is used by about 1.5 million people in the UK. Metformin has many benefits over other diabetes therapies, yet approximately 1 in 4 patients suffer gastrointestinal side effects with this pill, and...
15 Dec 2014
Young artists’ video art to be showcased at DCA
A showreel of work created by budding video artists and filmmakers from the Dundee area will be screened at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) this week. TV21 Experimental Video/Digital Film is a project involving 16–19 year olds from the Dundee area who have created new video art works inspired by the REWIND Artists’ Video archive based at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD). The resulting work will be shown at DCA Cinema from 6pm on Wednesday, 17th December. This event showcases the completed works by the young people, including introductions, and it will also feature works ...
12 Dec 2014
V&A Dundee to embark on national tour in 2015
V&A Museum of Design Dundee will begin 2015 with their first touring exhibition visiting more than 70 places the length and breadth of Scotland. The tour takes in rural locations such as Harris, Campbeltown, Elgin and Galashiels alongside Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen. Part of the new museum’s national pre-opening programme, the Design in Motion exhibition will be housed in the Travelling Gallery, a custom-built, mobile, contemporary gallery inside a bus. The tour will launch in Dundee on February 13 before embarking on a 17-week journey visiting 78 venues including secondary schools ...
12 Dec 2014
Tractor beam pulls into Top 10 breakthroughs of the year
A University of Dundee-based project to produce the first working acoustic tractor beam has been named one of the Breakthroughs of the Year for 2014 by Physics World, taking a place on the shortlist alongside the landing of the Philae probe onto a comet. The Dundee researchers, working with colleagues at Illinois Wesleyan University in the US, turned science fiction into science fact with their project, creating the first acoustic “tractor beam” that can pull an object by firing sound waves at it. Dr Hamish Johnston, editor of physicsworld.com, said, “The acoustic tractor beam is a fant...