Latest news with #UniversityofEdinburgh
Scotsman
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Rock singer Fish turns down honorary degree from University of Edinburgh amid Israel protests
Fish decided to turn down the honorary doctorate on Tuesday. | Corbis via Getty Images Fish said he was in an 'incredibly awkward' position. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Scottish rock singer Fish has turned down an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh. Fish, real name Derek Dick, completed the UK-leg of his final tour earlier this year before he set sail to retirement on his croft in the Outer Hebrides. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The former Marillion frontman arrived in Edinburgh alongside his wife Simone Rösler at the weekend ahead of being awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh's Archaeology department. However, after discovering previous reporting of protests around the university's investments linked to Israel, he announced in a post to social media that he decided to turn the degree down. Fish decided to turn down the honorary doctorate on Tuesday. | Corbis via Getty Images Fish said that, on Monday, 'the sky fell in' when he was sitting alone on the couch and he received a notification on his phone. 'It [the day] had all started so well but then my phone pinged and the sky fell in,' he said. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'At first glance, I'd been sent a report about a large student protest about the genocide in Palestine but then as I read deeper into the article it took on a darker significance. 'I'd completely missed previous reporting about Edinburgh University having been unpatched from a lot of media while on the island and caught up with our own issues.' He added that he spoke with his family about the situation and they were all supportive. Fish also added that the University communications team understood his position. The ex-singer said: 'The way I saw it there were three choices. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Accept the award, ignore the elephant in the room and say nothing. This would leave me wide open to rightful questions being asked about my own values and I would be asking myself those questions too. 'Accept the award and make my points in a condemning speech. I'd still have the consequences of the first option to deal with and probably come off as more of a hypocrite. 'Decline the award and walk away.' He said he decided to make the decision to decline the award and walk away. He added: 'At the end of the day the doctorate wouldn't have changed my life and I'm never going to regret yesterday's decision. 'My conscience is clear in that respect, and I feel I made a statement no matter how small. It felt good.'
Leader Live
6 hours ago
- Health
- Leader Live
Weight loss jab Mounjaro linked to lower dementia risk
Academics said the benefits of drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro – including for managing weight and blood sugar levels – are well known, but other health benefits of the popular drugs remain 'unclear'. People with type 2 diabetes and obesity who are taking the drugs are also less likely to die prematurely, researchers found. The study saw experts from Taiwan examine date on 60,000 people from around the world, with an average age of 58, who had type 2 diabetes and obesity. Key differences between three weight-loss injections: Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Ozempic. Around half were given GLP agonist drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide – which are sold under the brand names Wegovy and Mounjaro. Semaglutide is also the main ingredient for the type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic. GLP agonists can reduce a person's appetite; slow down their digestion; reduce the amount of sugar the liver makes and they help the body to make more insulin when needed. The other half used other anti-diabetic medication. 📢Important update Eligible people in #Dorset will be able to access Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) weight management medication from autumn 2025. ✅Around 1,000 people in Dorset will qualify under strict national criteria ✅No need to contact your doctor More: During a seven-year follow-up period, researchers found that people given the GLP agonist drugs appeared to have a 37% lower risk of dementia and a 19% reduced risk of stroke. They were also 30% less likely to die during the follow-up period. And when researchers looked at the data further they found even greater benefits in people aged 60 or older, women, and those with a body mass index score of 30 to 40. They found no differences in Parkinson's disease or brain bleeds. The academics said their findings suggest 'potential neuroprotective and cerebrovascular benefits' of the drugs but they called for more studies to confirm the findings. Recommended reading: 'These findings suggest that semaglutide and tirzepatide may offer neuroprotective and cerebrovascular benefits beyond glycemic control, potentially improving long-term cognitive and survival outcomes in adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity,' they wrote in the journal JAMA Network Open. Commenting on the study, Professor Tara Spires-Jones, director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh and group leader in the UK Dementia Research Institute, said: 'This is a very interesting study adding to evidence that GLP1 receptor agonists are associated with a lower risk of dementia in people with type 2 diabetes and obesity. 'This type of study cannot determine whether the drugs reduced disease risk by directly protecting the brain. 'It is highly likely that effectively treating type 2 diabetes and obesity would reduce dementia and stroke risk as they are known risk factors for these conditions. 'Further work is needed including randomised clinical trials to confirm these drugs are protective in people with diabetes and obesity and other trials are needed to determine whether these drugs will be protective in people who do not have type 2 diabetes and obesity.' Recommended reading: Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer's Society, said: 'It is well established that diabetes and obesity can increase your risk of developing dementia. 'This study supports existing evidence that shows these drugs may reduce dementia risk, particularly for people aged 60 and over who are living with type 2 diabetes and obesity. 'Although interesting, we can't draw conclusions from this study alone as it is an observational study, only a small number of people who took part went on to develop dementia and as the impact of these drugs on different types of dementia is not clear. 'There are clinical trials currently looking at whether drugs like these can be used to treat early-stage Alzheimer's disease, so this is a really exciting area being explored in the research fight against dementia.'
The Print
7 hours ago
- Science
- The Print
Sotheby's poised for red hot bidding battle as largest Martian meteorite goes up for auction in NY
With a reddish-brown Martian feel, the 24.67 kg meteorite is expected to attract intense bidding in New York. Measuring 15 inches wide, the meteorite dwarfs the previous largest Martian specimen by 70 percent. The NWA 16788 was discovered in Niger and is assumed to have travelled 140 million miles to reach Earth. As opposed to meteorites that erode over centuries, it has minimal weathering, a point highlighted by meteoriticists. Bengaluru: The largest piece of Mars on Earth is going up for auction Wednesday in New York. The bid amount for this meteorite collision remnant is set to open at USD 1.6 million, according to Sotheby's auction house. It was in the 1980s that the scientists first started to confirm meteorites from Mars with the help of isotopic analysis—a technique used to understand the age, origin, and chemical composition of a sample. Since then, the demand for authentic pieces has grown. The global craze for astronomical artefacts reportedly surged in the 2010s, with meteorite prices climbing to record figures. In 2013, Chelyabinsk meteorite fragments were sold, with one small piece reaching a price of around $7,000 back then. In 2022, a Costa Rican meteorite was sold for $35,000. In the UK in 2021, 15 gm of Winchcombe meteorite fetched $3,500. In this case, the meteorite is expected to fetch $4 million. The Martian rock is part of Sotheby's Geek Week 2025, featuring more than a hundred lots, including fossils and gem minerals. A juvenile dinosaur skeleton is also set for the bid. The Ceratosaurus was discovered in 1996 at Wyoming's Bone Cabin Quarry, a dinosaur fossil site. The event opens a market for rare scientific and natural history artifacts. CNN reported that some palaeontologists are not happy with the auction. The rock should not be hoarded by a private collector, but it deserves a museum for science and the public, according to Steve Brusatte, a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh. Beyond the scientific value, NWA 16788 represents a tangible piece of another planet. In the case of institutions, it's an opportunity to understand the clues about geology. The Martian meteorite is a rare specimen, as only 400 out of 77,000 documented meteorites on Earth originate from Mars, according to Sotheby's auction house. A fragment of this meteorite was analysed in a specialised laboratory, confirming its Martian origin by matching its chemical composition to samples collected during the 1976 Viking space probe mission. The meteorite is assumed to have formed from slowly cooled Martian magma and contains minerals like pyroxene and olivine, giving it a unique texture. The glassy surface as seen is probably due to the intense heat during atmospheric entry. The rock was previously displayed at the Italian Space Agency, Rome, but the meteorite owner remains confidential as the auction house did not reveal the name. The exact arrival date on Earth is still unknown. That said, tests suggest it landed in recent years, according to the New York auction house. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: Shubhanshu Shukla carried sleeping water bears to ISS. How experiment could unlock space travel secrets
The Hindu
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
SFI's UK committee opens first overseas office in Southall
The UK committee of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) on Monday (July 15) opened a full-fledged office, the outfit's maiden such office abroad, at Southall, West London, with a sizeable concentration of the Indian community. Incidentally, when the UK committee was launched at the foundation conference on June 4, 2022, it was also the first international unit of the SFI. The organisation now has a presence in 30 universities across the UK, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, with a total of 341 members at last count, with a majority of them being students from Kerala, according to the organisers. 'We have been able to create a structure under the UK committee in the last three years and have now organisation committees in six cities — London, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, and Portsmouth — while there are members from even more cities. Incidentally, a majority of our members are first-timers who did not have any previous association with the organisation when they were back home,' said Nikhil Mathew, secretary, UK committee. P.S. Sanjeev, SFI Kerala State secretary, said the UK committee opening an office was a significant development, indicating the increasing relevance of the outfit beyond. It was indeed the outfit's first major office on foreign soil, he said. He added that the organisation's UK committee primarily intervenes in the issue of racism faced by foreign students from academic and non-teaching staff alike. One of the most important interventions by the UK committee was against the mass failing of 70 students, predominantly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, at a university in Scotland, allegedly on racist grounds. Housing is another challenge that students from India are often caught unawares of, thanks to exploitation by agents. The SFI UK committee has identified this as another area for intervention to raise collective awareness about the issue among the student community. The committee is set to host Sambhaji Bhagat, a Dalit activist and revolutionary balladeer, at the University of Edinburgh later this week. 'We organise arts and sports fests and academic talks. The idea is to help Indian students remain connected to their cultural roots. We also want to help them deal with emerging problems like the change in immigration laws and increasing difficulty in finding jobs,' said Mr. Mathew, a final-year PhD student in International Development at the University of Edinburgh.
Daily Mirror
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Great British Sewing Bee start time, contestants and judges for 2025 series
The Great British Sewing Bee is back on BBC One with 12 new sewers looking to impress the judges - and here's everything you need to know The Great British Sewing Bee is set to return to BBC One, with the competition series kicking off tonight, July 15. Sara Pascoe will be at the helm as 12 new sewing enthusiasts display their talents, starting with a pattern challenge to create a tie-front blouse. Their skills will be further tested in the subsequent made-to-measure round, where they'll be tasked with crafting a perfectly shaped dress featuring pleats. The contestants will then face the transformation challenge, where they're asked by the judges to transform a circle skirt into a completely new garment. Here's everything you need to know about the series, including the start time, participants and judges. When does The Great British Sewing Bee begin? The hour-long episode is the first of 10, which will air weekly on Tuesday evenings at 9pm. Fans can catch up on missed episodes via BBC iPlayer. Who are the new Great British Sewing Bee contestants? Caz - 59 Caz, hailing from Nottingham, managed her family's print business for over three decades before recently retiring. She began sewing at the age of 11 and even crafted her own wedding gown. Kit - 24 Kit, originally from Surrey but now residing and working in Manchester, embarked on his sewing journey during primary school. During his university years, he would create a new garment every week and has a passion for exploring haberdasheries. Gaynor - 72 This Welsh grandmother has been sewing since the 1950s and currently teaches her 12 year old granddaughter the craft. Jess - 33 Jess, from Berkshire, started her sewing journey at the age of 11, using leftover fabric scraps to make items for her sister. During lockdown, she rediscovered her passion for sewing and hasn't looked back since. Órla - 19 Órla, a German and Scandinavian student at the University of Edinburgh, began sewing when she was just 15. She enjoys creating items for her loved ones and aspires to have a completely self-made wardrobe one day. Peter Peter, a senior construction manager, developed an interest in sewing while watching the Great British Sewing Bee with his two daughters. Since then, the entire family has been crafting their own clothes. Glendora Bus driver Glendora inherited her love for sewing and quilting from her mother. Since June 2021, she has crafted an impressive 36 quilts. Yasmin - 30 Yasmin hails from Gateshead and works as a research and development scientist. Her family prefers to make and mend rather than buy new, and it was her father who taught her how to create her own clothes from scratch. Novello - 66 Novello was inspired by Blue Peter to start sewing at the tender age of five. The Welsh-born contestant has maintained this interest throughout his life. Dan - 37 Dan is a performer from Durham who has been sewing since he was 10 years old. He even creates his own costumes for his performances. Saffie - 32 Saffie, a lecturer in Product & Industrial Design from Haggerston, learned to knit from her great aunt when she was eight. Since then, she has created numerous practical yet fashionable pieces. Stuart - 53 Stuart is a premises manager who frequently mends his family's clothes. His sewing journey began in 2020 when he started making hats. Who are the judges on the Great British Sewing Bee? The resident judges are Esme Young and Patrick Grant. Esme, aged 74, joined the programme in 2016 and has an impressive portfolio of costume design for major films such as Trainspotting and Bridget Jones's Diary. After launching her own shop in London, she has had the privilege of dressing celebrities like Grace Jones, Siouxsie Sioux, and Cher. Patrick, who is 51, has been a part of the show since its inception in 2013. He serves as a designer and creative director for bespoke tailors Norton & Sons of Savile Row, and was awarded Menswear Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2010. The Great British Sewing Bee is broadcast on BBC One at 9pm.
