31 May 2018

Scientists take on Cateran trail for charity

Scientists from the University of Dundee will swap lab coats for hiking boots this week as they take on one of Scotland’s greatest wildlife trails for charity. A team of four scientists from the University’s School of Life Sciences, hope to finish the 52-mile Cateran Trail within just five days as they aim to raise funds for Cats Protection and Re-Act Scotland. The team which includes Susan Farrell, Lauren Webster and Desiree Zeller, will be led by Irene Hallyburton, an experienced hill-walker and Malaria biologist based at the University’s Drug Discovery Unit. She said, “Last ye...

30 May 2018

‘Daily Mile’ round campus aims to improve staff health

University of Dundee staff are being encouraged to step away from their desks, slip on suitable footwear and ramble round their beautiful campus as part of a new initiative to improve health and wellbeing. Professor Sir Pete Downes, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, will lead staff members on a walk to launch the Daily Mile scheme tomorrow lunchtime. The initiative aims to promote the many benefits of walking to members of the University community and inspire them to build physical activity into their day-to-day routine. The inaugural Daily Mile walks take place at any time between 12noon ...

29 May 2018

Suicide battle requires older role models

Famous faces like Prince Harry and Ryan Reynolds can play a key role in reducing suicide rates among men, a researcher into the subject has said. Charlotte Starkey, a postgraduate Psychology student at the University of Dundee, says that famous faces of yesteryear could also contribute towards curbing the number of males taking their own lives. With suicide the largest killer of UK men under the age of 45, she says that while younger males living in the public eye are more inclined to open up about their difficulties, those outwith the so-called ‘Instagram generation’ are still looking for re...

28 May 2018

Stop and search report leads to policy change

Police Scotland has changed the way it carries out stop and search following a series of recommendations made by researchers at the University of Dundee and Edinburgh Napier University. Dr Megan O’Neill, from Dundee, and Edinburgh Napier’s Dr Liz Aston had previously evaluated a new approach to stop and search piloted by the Fife Division of Police Scotland. Their report, published by the Dundee-based Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR), highlighted elements of the pilot that can be regarded as good practice while also making 19 recommendations for improvement. Police Scotland has...

25 May 2018

Degree Show on course for record-breaking year

Temperatures are set to soar in Dundee this weekend but the hottest ticket in town remains the city’s biggest celebration of culture. This year’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design and Architecture Degree Show is expected to have welcomed a record-breaking number of visitors by the time it closes its doors on Sunday evening. Thousands have already flocked to view the work of more than 300 exhibiting students, with many more expected to take in the spectacle this weekend. More than 15,000 visitors took in last year’s Degree Show and Professor Paul Harris, Dean of Duncan o...