26 March 2004

Scientists to investigate how to get the most from your workout

Photo opportunity: 3.00pm, Saturday 27 March 2004, MSI 4th floor coffee room (please phone 01382 344744 for entry), School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee

University of Dundee is to welcome delegates from the British Association of Sports and Exercise Sciences (BASES) at the BASES workshop on Molecular Exercise Physiology on Saturday and Sunday, 27-28 March.

University of Dundee's lecturer in Molecular Exercise Physiology, Dr Henning Wackerhage will make presentations on hot topics within the field including the molecular mechanisms that make muscles adapt to exercise at the University's School of Life Sciences, recently voted the UK’s top scientific institution to work in by readers of 'The Scientist' magazine.

Delegates will learn how to carry out a Western blot which is a key technique in molecular exercise physiology. Western blots are used to search for the regulatory mechanisms that mediate the adaptations to exercise. In particular, they want to know the mechanisms that induce fatigue resistance in response to endurance training and muscle growth in response to resistance training. Knowing these mechanisms will help scientists to improve training and nutritional strategies not only for athletes but also for diabetics and patients with muscle wasting.

The BASES workshop programme is designed to provide sport and exercise scientists with current information, views, skills and the sharing of experiences, which relate to improving practice in disciplines such as Sports Biomedicine.

"This is a great opportunity to bring together exercise scientists to investigate current trends in the field and hopefully attract further research into molecular exercise physiology in the UK, explains Dr Wackerhage."

For further information please contact Dr Henning Wackerhage tel: 01382 345124 E-mail: h.wackerhage@dundee.ac.uk

By Angela Durcan, Press Officer 01382 344768, out of hours: 07968298585, a.durcan@dundee.ac.uk