Historian Roy Porter dies aged 55
Medical historian Roy Porter has died, aged 55. Professor Porter died in hospital after being found near his home in St Leonard’s, near Hastings. The cause of his death has not yet been established.
Couch potato drug takes the biscuit
A couch potato drug that fools the body into thinking it is actively exercising is being developed by researchers at Dundee University. A fat-busting process in the body, which was discovered by researchers led by Grahame Hardie from the school of life sciences, is now being used to develop new drugs.
Glasgow tower joins millennium misfits
A £10 million rotating tower built to mark the millennium will be shut for the next few months after it was found to have sunk, it emerged today. Repairs to the 110m swivelling Glasgow Tower, part of the Glasgow Science Centre on the banks of the River Clyde, could cost up to £75,000.
Scots Royal Society honours Rowling
Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling has been elected an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh for her success in "reversing the world wide trend in decreasing literacy". Lord Sutherland, principal of Edinburgh University, will succeed Sir William Stewart as RSE president in October.