16 Oct 2017
Diabetes patients asked to help with world leading study in Scotland
A major diabetes study conducted by researchers in Scotland into how the disease develops and some of the reasons why it varies from patient to patient is now looking to recruit patients from across the country. The GoDARTS study is looking for help from patients with diabetes in Scotland who have been diagnosed within the past two years. Over the past 20 years in Tayside the GoDARTS study - one of the world’s leading studies into the disease – has worked with patients to build a database of information that has been made available to researchers worldwide and helped to define genetic factors...
16 Oct 2017
Importance of fiction to be debated at Dundee Literary Festival
Fiction is defined as something that is invented or untrue, but what does that mean when the very nature of truth is under attack? The role of literature in an era of political turmoil will be explored at the Dundee Literary Festival this week. ‘In the dark times, will there also be singing?’ takes place at Bonar Hall on Saturday 21 October. The panel event will see authors Cathy Rentzenbrink and Louise Welsh and Royal Society of Literature Director Tim Robertson discuss literature’s capacity to heal, challenge and to give a platform to those whose voices aren’t being heard. &ldqu...
12 Oct 2017
BBC-University collaboration explores how machines can help us argue
Eight simple ways to win an argument Moral Maze: Test Your Argument Moral Maze: Argument Analytics Computing researchers from the University of Dundee are working with the BBC to devise computer software that challenges people to improve their arguing skills. Professor Chris Reed and his colleagues from the Centre for Argument Technology (ARG-tech) have signed an agreement for a suite of technology to be piloted in conjunction with BBC programming. The partnership builds on many years of collaboration between Professor Reed and the makers of the popular Radio 4 live discussion programme, The Moral ...
9 Oct 2017
Dundee Literary Festival adds all-inclusive storytelling session to festival line-up
The organisers of Dundee Literary Festival have worked with local disability charity PAMIS to ensure this year’s programme is as open and inclusive as possible. PAMIS, who support people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, have worked with organisers on a multi-sensory storytelling event for families. The free event, which will be held at Bonar Hall from 10am to 12pm on Friday 20October, will also see PAMIS launch one of their new stories, ‘Oona and the Giant’. The new stories, inspired by the work of the charity’s founder Loretto Lambe, have been devised to connect ...
5 Oct 2017
Dundee scientists make Parkinson’s breakthrough
Scientists at the University of Dundee have identified the structure of a key enzyme that protects the brain against Parkinson’s disease. The result of a decade of work, the research team said that solving the 3D structure and inner workings of the PINK1 enzyme represented a major breakthrough. “Solving the structure and workings of PINK1 gives us crucial insights in to how it exerts a protective role in Parkinson’s,” said Dr Miratul Muqit, Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Fellow and Consultant Neurologist at the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (MRC-PPU) in the S...
