News Now
New funding to study vitamin D: January 2011
Grant from the Scottish Government to test vitamin D levels in all ORCADES and NIMS blood samples.
Vitamin D is produced in the skin when it is exposed to enough sunlight. It has been known to be important in bone health for a long time, but it looks like it might also be important in diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, some cancers and heart disease.
A pilot study on the Scottish Mainland found that more than half of people were deficient in levels of this vitamin. Dr Jim Wilson, Population and Disease Genetics Group said "Given the high latitude of Orkney and fewer hours of sunshine, we expect that it might be worse here. We will look at how vitamin D deficiency varies with the seasons, how the diet and time spent outside affect levels and if there is a relationship with diseases like diabetes and MS.
It is a good example of the kind of work we will be able to do with the data and blood samples from the ORCADES study – there will be many projects like this in the future making use of the information and samples given by volunteers in Orkney."
ORCADES is led by Dr Jim Wilson at the University of Edinburgh, together with Professor's Harry Campbell (University of Edinburgh)and Alan Wright (MRC Human Genetics Unit) and Dr Sarah Wild (University of Edinburgh).
Links
Biology of Sex Chromosomes in the Germ Line. 5 May 2011
An MRC Human Genetics Unit and Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine symposium to honour the retirement of Professor Howard Cooke.
SYMPOSIUM
Thursday 5 May 2011
Royal Society of Edinburgh
22-26 George Street
EH2 2PQ
TOPICS
X and Y chromosomes, Meiosis, Germ Cells and Stem Cells
SPEAKERS
IAN ADAMS, PAUL BURGOYNE, DAVID ELLIOTT, ALEC JEFFREYS, RON MCKAY, KIM NASMYTH, GUDRUN RAPPOLD, PHILIPPA SAUNDERS, JAMES TURNER, CHRIS TYLER-SMITH, PAULINE YEN
Links
- Register for the BSCGL Biology of Sex Chromosomes in the Germ Line symposium
- For more information on registration please contact: eilidh.guild@hgu.mrc.ac.uk