12-nation research project

DUNDEE University experts are to be part of a 12-nation, €16 million (£14.2m) project aimed at transforming the treatment of obesity through a major study around links to Type 2 diabetes.

Academics f rom t he School of Medicine have been awarded €1 million (£890,000) as part of the international Sophia research consortium which hopes to identify factors that could unlock the key connections between the two conditions.

About 650 million people around the world are affected by obesity.

Professor Ewan Pearson, an expert in population health and genomics at Dundee, said: “There are 200 known complications of obesity, but we cannot predict who is more vulnerable to developing any of these.

“Sophia will help identify clinically meaningful subpopulations of patients living with obesity to help match treatments with patients, with our work specifically focusing on those with Type 2 diabetes.”

A CARNOUSTIE joiner has offered to repair a bridge at a h istor ic landmark after it was destroyed by vandals.

Dave Fyffe, the owner of Dave Fyffe Joinery, has offered to fix up the ruined bridge after a group of thugs destroyed it on Thursday May 28.

The wooden bridge, which is used by thousands of visitors to the historic mill every year, has been closed off after one of its railings was broken off and shoved into the water.

The young joiner, who started his business just five years ago, said: “I saw what happened on Facebook and it was pretty bad.

“I know Barry Mill quite well and they don’t have a lot of money to fix it themselves, so I thought that I may as well try to fix it because otherwise it’s hard to see it happening anytime soon.”

The beauty spot is quite close to Dave’s heart, with he and his partner planning to get married there.

The 29-year-old said: “I’ve gone there for years and years, and now I’ve got a two-year-old daughter and we go there as a family.

“Me and my partner are also planning to get married there in the next couple of years.”

Despite estimates for the value of the damage being into the five figures, Dave is offering to do the job free of charge, with a hand from some other local joiners.

He added: “From a guess, it may take a couple of days to repair, not too long.

“If there’s a lot of people interested in helping out, which I think there is, then it should get done pretty quickly.

“I really don’t think I could charge them for it, since they work on donations.

“It’s more of a nice gesture.”

The culprits responsible for the vandalism have yet to be found.

A police spokesman said: “Police Scotland is appealing for information about a vandalism to a wooden bridge at Barry Mill, near Carnoustie.

“From information provided by witnesses we have already spoken to, the damage appears to have happened sometime between 8-9pm on Thursday May 28.

“The bridge has been damaged by one of the handrails being broken off and pushed into the burn.

“This has now rendered the bridge unsafe and unusable.

“Estimates of the cost of repairing or replacing the bridge are well into five figures.”