14 Mar 2019

New way of testing for cocaine discovered

Image is credit G.S. Thomson 2018   Researchers from the University of Dundee have developed a new chemical sensor for cocaine that may lead to potential new point of seizure tests for police officers, customs officers, prison officers and medical professionals who routinely test for controlled substances. The new, specific colour-spot test has been developed by Dr Oluwasesan Adegoke and colleagues at the University’s Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science (LRCFS). Forensic laboratories are often called upon to identify tablets, liquids and unknown powders that may contain a control...

14 Mar 2019

Kenya competition puts legal skills on trial

Young Kenyans targeting a future in advocacy had their legal skills put on trial as part of a University of Dundee competition. The country’s next generation of legal professionals took their first steps towards the courtroom as they competed in the University’s Kenya Schools Mooting Competition. Youngsters from four Nairobi secondary schools took part in the inaugural event, which was held in the Kenyan capital’s Kempinski Hotel and organised in conjunction with SI-UK Kenya, an independent service that supports students applying to UK universities. Schools presented teams of four pupi...

13 Mar 2019

Researchers make important cell division discovery

Researchers at the University of Dundee have provided important new insights into the regulation of cell division, which may ultimately lead to a better understanding of cancer progression. Cell division, also known as mitosis, is the process by which a parent cell divides into two daughter cells containing the same DNA content. If this process goes wrong and the DNA is not partitioned equally then diseases such as cancer can arise. To safeguard against these errors, the cell uses two classes of enzymes, known as kinases and phosphatases, to monitor division and switch signals on and off at certain times...

13 Mar 2019

Public ‘Sole Searching’ to help forensic science research

Image is credit G.S. Thomson 2018   Members of the public are being invited to do some ‘sole searching’ and get involved in a University of Dundee project aiming to help forensic science take a step forward in creating a new research database. Footwear marks, also called shoeprints, deposited at crime scenes may be used to link a type of shoe or possibly even a specific shoe to the scene.  Being able to do this in a way that is scientifically valid requires information about how a mark that a shoe makes changes over time or changes when it is made on different surfaces or with diff...

12 Mar 2019

Making a mountain out of Munro’s memory

Hill walkers from across the world will have the chance to bag themselves a place in Scottish history this year if they agree to summit one Munro within 12 months. A large-scale environmental community project, led by Eddie Summerton at the University of Dundee’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (DJCAD), invites walkers, runners and climbers of all ages to take to the hills in memory of Sir Hugh Munro. Sir Hugh became famous for listing all Scottish mountains over 3,000ft, which are known as Munros in his honour. Those who choose to climb one of the 282 mountains on the online lis...