2 Aug 2018

Funding boost for University of Dundee researcher

One of the UK’s leading researchers into Parkinson’s disease has received a major funding award to continue with his groundbreaking work. Dr Miratul Muqit, senior researcher at the University of Dundee’s Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (MRC-PPU), has been awarded £2million following the renewal of his Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship in Clinical Science. Dr Muqit, who is also a Consultant Neurologist at Ninewells Hospital where he treats patients with Parkinson’s and other degenerative brain disorders, will use the funding to...

1 Aug 2018

Top of the plots: New allotments take root on campus

Students at the University of Dundee are being encouraged to think earthworm instead of bookworm following the creation of new allotments on campus. Plot holders can look forward to good thymes cultivating herbs or the swede taste of success with home grown vegetables after 20 raised beds were created on the site of the former Biological Sciences Institute on Miller’s Wynd. Trudy Cunningham, Environment and Sustainability Officer, said that the idea cropped up after being repeatedly approached for growing spaces by both staff and students. “There are already plots at our Botanic Garden, but ...

30 Jul 2018

Fungal cells targeted by bacteria's 'poison arrows'

A deadly weapon used by bacteria to eliminate one another is also used against fungal cells, researchers from the University of Dundee have discovered. A team from the University’s School of Life Sciences collaborated with experts at Newcastle University and found that toxins delivered by ‘poison arrows’ are used to kill off different kinds of cells that pose a threat to aggressive bacteria. Using a weapon known as the Type VI secretion system to fire toxic proteins into neighbouring cells, the process allows competing bacteria to eliminate bacterial rivals. However, the Dundee team dis...

27 Jul 2018

Dundee ranked among UK’s best for student satisfaction

The University of Dundee has once again ranked among the best universities in the United Kingdom for overall student satisfaction, achieving a top 10 place in the 2018 National Student Survey (NSS). The University recorded overall satisfaction of 88%, well above the sector average of 83% and was ranked second in Scotland. The National Student Survey is a census of nearly half a million students undertaken independently by Ipsos MORI and evaluates how satisfied students are with the quality of their higher education experience. The survey asks students 27 questions across eight themes relating to their e...

27 Jul 2018

Exploring the psychology of newborns

The psychological importance of the first few days of life will be explored at an international gathering of researchers at the University of Dundee next week. Leading experts from across the fields of foetal, neonatal and infant psychology, autism and communication disorders will gather in Dundee for the Second International Workshop on the Psychology of the Neonate. Together they will investigate how the first 28 days of life, the neonatal period, is crucial for infant development and why it has been historically underexplored. Presenters will also discuss the shifting emphasis of research to the firs...