Latest News for 03/2021
November 2019
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12 Nov 2019Dr Sarah McKim from the Division of Plant Sciences has been awarded tenure. Sarah’s research explores genetic and molecular mechanisms which control how cereal plants develop. In particular, her lab focuses on understanding the developmental genetics of architectural traits in barley which can influence grain yield and quality.
May 2019
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17 May 2019Cereals provide more calories in the human diet than any other source and their grains underpin beer and whisky production across the globe but we have ‘barley’ begun to harvest the secrets of our cereals, says a University of Dundee plant scientist. Dr Sarah McKim, who specialises in the developmental biology of plants, will help the public gain an insight into the importance of our cereals by sharing how ground-breaking research in Dundee is increasing our understanding of how genes control cereal growth.
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12 May 2019Professor Hari Hundal and Dr Sarah McKim were named winners in their respective categories in the Dundee University Student Association (DUSA) Student-led Teaching Awards on Friday night. Hari jointly won in the Most Inspirational Teaching category while Sarah won the Best Postgraduate Supervisor category. The shortlisted nominees (from over 300 nominations) and the students who nominated attended the Student Led Teaching Awards Dinner last Friday, where the winners were announced.
December 2018
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05 Dec 2018New gene combinations in barley could prove a budding success for breeders and brewers across the world, according to a new study by plant scientists at the University of Dundee and the James Hutton Institute. The study, published in New Phytologist, suggests new barley lines created by bringing together novel genetic variation, could dramatically benefit the brewing and distilling industries by offering improved grain quality.
January 2018
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22 Jan 2018Last week, at Review of the Year, Professor Julian Bow presented the annual School Prizes. The awards recognise excellence by members of the School in research and public engagement.
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10 Jan 2018A University of Dundee academic has been awarded more than £600,000 to study an increasing problem with the cereal crop barley that impacts the commercially important malting process and the shelf-life of animal feed. Dr Sarah McKim, a School of Life Sciences researcher based at the James Hutton Institute, was awarded a BBSRC research grant to investigate the unfavourable trait, called ‘skinning’, and to develop tools to track it in breeding populations.
October 2017
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17 Oct 2017Scientists from the International Barley Hub have discovered a genetic pathway to improved barley grain size and uniformity, a finding which may help breeders develop future varieties suited to the needs of growers and distillers.
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05 Oct 2017Plants show a remarkable sensitivity to their environment. Seasonal changes provide plants with cues to maximise their performance and survival. Day length and the intensity of the sunlight are examples of such signals that help plants decide if they should flower or their seeds should remain dormant. One area where we understand very little is how seasonal cues may control how flower morphology.
May 2015
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08 May 2015Whether you have green fingers or not, every breath you take, every meal you eat owes a debt to plants. From one little seed, planted into soil, many green lives can arise - from small herbs up to big trees, or from ornamental flowers to substantial crops which all animals and mankind need to survive on this planet.
October 2013
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08 Oct 2013The productivity of major crops such as barley could get a boost in the future thanks to discoveries in the inner workings of genes and how they influence crop development, a new study from the James Hutton Institute and the Division of Plant Sciences at the University of Dundee has shown.
