It’s campaign time and on May the 3rd voters will choose the future of the city transport. Transport had been in the spotlight in recent years due to the troubled tram project. Now Edinburgh faces another challenge with European Union strict standards on air pollution. The Green party have highlighted the deadline for the city [...]
A lack or low content of the protein IFITM3 due to genetic mutation can change a harmless flu into a life-threatening disease. This information was announced in a collaborative study which included contributions from Edinburgh University and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute among others. While most people recover well from a flu, some have to [...]
An oil rig in the North Sea has been evacuated after the discovery of a gas leak on Sunday 150 miles (240km) off the coast of Aberdeen. Total E&P UK (TEP UK), operators of the platform, has stated that 238 people have been evacuated from the rig, and no injuries have been reported. The platform is [...]
Ten thousand smokers will participate in a new lung cancer screening trial, according to Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer. Sir Harry Burns announced the trial will test the cost-effectiveness of EarlyCDT lung, a simple blood test used to detect the disease in its earliest stages. Current screening methods only detect advanced lung cancer. The trial will [...]
Come rain or shine, this week will see the kick off of the 25th annual Edinburgh International Science Festival. Preparations for the March 30th opening are going “pretty good” according to Frances Sutton, PR manager for the festival, as works are continues to set up for the nearly 200 events being offered this year. Final [...]
Every year we turn our clocks forward by an hour at the last weekend in March. This year the change to daylight-saving time, or summer time as many people call it, took place yesterday, on March the 25th. Summer time will reduce energy costs by aligning the time we spend awake and working with daylight. [...]
A technique which cools the human body, inducing a kind of hibernation, is to be used to see if it will help the recovery of stroke victims. The technique, which recuduces body temperature from 36.8C to between 34C and 35C has already been used to treat brain injury after cardiac arrest or birth defects. Inducing [...]
Green tea grown solely in panda excrement will command high prices worldwide. An entrepreneur in the southwest Chinese city of Chengdu plans to charge up to £2,000 per 500 grams for his product, which he claims says will make it the world’s “most expensive tea.” An Yanshi says he chose to grow tea in panda [...]
With a mild winter almost behind us, the future could hold a less than mild spring. With the rough spring that has already battered much of the United States in the form of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, Scotland must ask the questions of what spring will bring, and how prepared we are. According to Andrew [...]
Scotland’s hydroelectric power stations have received a boost from a warm and wet winter. Energy production in Hydro plants was revealed to be the highest since records began in the 1930s. This data come from energy company SSE, who run more than 50 hydroelectric schemes across the Highlands, Perth, Kinross, Argyll and Bute. The high [...]
Sony music confirmed today that a number of Michael Jackson tracks were stolen when their website was hacked. The security breach occurred in April last year, and Sony announced that as many as 70 million PlayStation Network users’ details may have been stolen. The theft of the Michael Jackson tracks came shortly afterwards, but was [...]
Free Wi-Fi for “smart device” users could cover parts of Central Edinburgh, Newtown and the Meadows by 2015. The Urban Broadband Fund will be allocate £100m between ten UK cities to help create a number of super-connected cities in the UK. Four capital cities, including Edinburgh, London, Belfast and Cardiff, have already been guaranteed a [...]
Many people have always believed that guys have to be not only handsome and smart but also tall to be successful in reproduction. However, a new study from the Netherlands shows that it is not the tallest men that have the most children, but rather men who have an average height of about 177 cm [...]
Talking to yourself is not always bad, according to a recent study. Sports and exercise psychologist Dr David Tod, from Aberystwyth University, has found that positive self-talk has beneficial effects in sports performance. The study suggests overcoming one’s weaker self is not always easy, even if one regularly engages in sports. Many people often either [...]
by Natalia Rodríguez Domínguez MixGenera International Conference took place today, from 8:15 to 17:45, in Madrid, Spain. It brought together researchers, engineers and practitioners to analyse the future of electricity supply and other alternative energy sources. The Conference was sponsored by IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES), CIGRÉ (International Council on Large Electric Systems), Red [...]
By Sam Khan-Mcintyre Psychologists at the University of Edinburgh have found that levels of facial symmetry can show mental decline in men between the ages of 79 and 83. Researchers have discovered that those with less symmetry in their faces are more likely to have an increased slowdown of brainpower. Subjects’ results in reasoning and [...]
NHS Orkney has provided its members with iPads for use in meetings in order to dispense with paper usage. The health board, the UK’s smallest, is the first Scottish public body to go ‘paper light.’
By Gabriel Neil It was announced last week that scientists from the University of Dundee have made a discovery which could lead to a deeper understanding of how cancer occurs. The research team, led by Dr Joost Zomerdijk discovered a “previously hidden link” within the ways in which human cells make the structures they need [...]
By Celeste Carrigan Dr Richard Dixon, Head of WWF Scotland, speaks to Edinburgh Napier News about Earth Hour. Not only will people have to remember to put their clock forward one hour this weekend but don’t forget to switch off your lights at 8.30-9.30pm on Saturday 26 March as part of the WWF Environmental campaign. [...]
By Georgi Bomb This Saturday, 26 March, remember to switch off your lights at 8.30-9.30pm as people around the world sit in the dark to join in the world’s biggest environmental campaign, set up by WWF. WWF are doing their bit for climate change week with ‘Earth Hour.’ It started in Australia during 2007 and [...]
By Celeste Carrigan It is a gadget filled weekend with the release of the Nintendo 3DS and the Apple Ipad 2. Thousands of people began queuing last night to get their hands on two of the biggest gaming gadgets as they battle it out for sales. Nintendo 3DS had a midnight launch with thousands queuing [...]
Gran Turismo 5 was one of the most eagerly anticipated games of the 21st Century. On its release, however, it did not meet gamers’ expectations. Since then it has improved, slowly working its way into the hearts of gamers and turning into a rather good game after all. But why when it was released was [...]
By Emily Glass A US Gaming company have revived Dundee-based developer Real Time World (RTW) by buying shares in the business and plans to open a new studio in Edinburgh. Set up in 2002 by Dave Jones, who was part of the firm responsible for creating Grand Theft Auto, RTW went into administration last August with [...]
by Tom Barry Social networking website Twitter celebrates its fifth birthday today. The micro-blogging site, which enables users to follow the antics of friends and celebrities via posted updates known as tweets, was founded in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, and has since grown from the simple idea of an individual using an SMS [...]
by Orla O Muiri Both Ireland and the UK suffer from low blood supplies because of a lack of awareness. The population of Ireland is over four million. Yet, only 3% of the population give blood. In the UK, the situation is worse with 4% of adults actively donating, providing blood for a population of [...]
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