New test means quicker diagnosis for patients

By Cara Sulieman

SCIENTISTS at a Scottish university have developed a quick, cheap way of testing for inherited diseases that could mean an earlier diagnosis for patients.

The team, based at the University of Edinburgh, have cut testing times down to around half an hour, and are hoping to develop the product for commercial release in the next six months.

Using just a drop of saliva, the technique uses chemical analysis to pinpoint variations in a patient’s DNA coding.

Cutting out the expensive enzymes usually used in such tests, the researchers are confident they can cut the cost to less than £637, significantly less than it can cost currently.

Funeral plans for top Scots professor Hamish Wood after he dies at home

by Shaun Milne

A TOP Scots professor so revered he had a university building named after him has died.

Hamish Wood, 83, passed away at his home in Bearsden, Glasgow, on Friday after a long illness.

He spent most of his career in academia at the University of Strathclyde, starting work there in 1953 and rising through the ranks until he became vice-principle for two years from 1984.

He retired in 1991 as Professor Emeritus.