Founded in 1583, the University of Edinburgh is one of the world’s top universities. It is globally recognised for its research, development and high-quality teaching, attracting some of the world’s leading thinkers to work and study. The University is one of the UK’s top five universities for research and its academics’ research achievements have global implications. Its scientists created Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal to be genetically cloned from an adult cell. The University developed the first genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccine, pioneered the first automated industrial assembly robot, and devised technology used in today’s smartphones. It is working towards many more historic firsts. With one of the most diverse populations of any Scottish University, two thirds of the world’s nationalities are represented in a student body of more than 31,000.
If you follow the debate on “population ageing” you could be forgiven for thinking that it is a bad thing; growing numbers of older people mean greying societies, struggling to maintain pensions, welfare…
Relations between student protesters and police in universities have broken down. From demonstrations demanding that “cops stay off campus” to protests against the heavy-handed way in which students have…
Small but powerful, the BRCK brings the web to those hard to reach places.
BRCK
The BRCK is, in a sense, just like the archetypal little black box. It does what you need and you don’t have to worry about its inner workings. The team developing it has a simple aim – to extend and stabilise…
Cancer disproportionately affects the old.
lnmurrey
The older we get, the higher our risk of cancer. With age, we accumulate exposure to environments and chemicals that increase the risk of acquiring cancer-causing mutations. But the danger doesn’t increase…
As Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary looms, time travel is everywhere – on the screen, at least. Famously, the Doctor can whizz through the years using a “dimensionally transcendental” machine, the TARDIS…
At risk: up to one in four children reports experiencing harm.
j.d. welch
Michael Gove has taken aim at social workers and called for a major rethink of how they approach their work. According to the education secretary, social workers are often trained to see those they work…
Gender justice: women take more prominent roles on ICC than other courts.
ICC-CPI
The African Union will hold a summit from October 11-13 to consider a mass withdrawal of the 34 African member states of the International Criminal Court (ICC). This would be in response to the trials…
Nobel Prize in medicine 2013: Thomas Südhof, James Rothman and Randy Schekman.
PNAS
The 2013 Nobel Prize in Medicine has been awarded to Thomas Südhof, James Rothman and Randy Schekman for their discoveries of how the transport mechanism in cells works. Cells are the basic units of life…
A new study sheds light on why natural spaces in cities can help keep us healthy. Researchers found that people living in neighbourhoods with a large amount of green space, such as parks or playing fields…
A volcano in Indonesia may be the location of a massive “mystery eruption” that has perplexed volcanologists for decades, according to a new study. The eruption occurred in 1257, and it could also be one…
More than half of Syria’s refugees are children.
Oxfam International
A new city rises up in the Jordanian desert. Zaatari is now “home” – at last count – to 144,000 Syrians. The numbers are scarcely credible. One million child refugees; two million exiles in total; another…
“Mini brains” with separate working regions have been grown using stem cells in the lab for the first time. They have similarities to an embryo in the womb up to nine weeks. Under the right conditions…
Google says it can change the world with its Loon balloons.
iLighter
A flurry of initiatives aimed at connecting the billions – mainly in Africa – who still do not have access to the internet are underway. A few weeks ago, Google’s possibly aptly named Project Loon was…
The cost of a degree depends on the colour of your cash.
Nick in exsilio
The different countries of the UK have very different ideas about a lot of things, and university fees are no exception. With the introduction of £9,000 tuition fees in England, Wales and Scotland both…
It is unlikely that a mammoth could be cloned in the way we created Dolly the sheep, as has been proposed following the discovery of mammoth bones in northern Siberia. However, the idea prompts us to consider…
Moving with the times. Mobile phones are a vital tool in African banking.
whiteafrican
Bitcoin has landed in Kenya. The online currency that was, until recently, the preserve of tech entrepreneurs and only the most pioneering financiers, is to go mainstream in Nairobi while the rest of us…
A new subject is to be introduced in England to kick start our technological future. Instead of teaching ICT, the national curriculum published this week calls on schools to teach computing. This new way…
In control: army tanks outside the Ministry of Defence, Cairo, June 2012.
iPolitics via Creative Commons
In the wake of the shooting of at least 51 supporters of former president Muhammad Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party is calling for a popular uprising against the generals that…
Very nice, Andy, but how do you feel about the in/out referendum?
Kerim Okten/EPA
Andy Murray’s historic victory at Wimbledon sparked instant debate about whether his was a win for Scotland or Britain. Clearly, First Minister Alex Salmond was in little doubt, as he akwardly attempted…
Does my brain look small in this? Scans can be used to detect brain shrinkage.
Flickr/bucaorg
As many as 500 brain scans are performed in Scotland every week. These scans are mostly used to diagnose - or rule out - serious diseases like strokes and tumours, but this is not their only function…
Professor of International Child Protection Research and Director of Data at the Childlight Global Child Safety Institute , The University of Edinburgh
Chancellor's Fellow, Deanery of Molecular, Genetic and Population Health Sciences Usher Institute Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, The University of Edinburgh