Exeter

National Paracycling Champion Tom Staniford has an extremely rare condition which, until now, has puzzled his doctors.

He is unable to store fat under his skin – yet has type 2 diabetes – and suffered hearing loss as a child. Now, thanks to advances in genome sequencing, an international research team led by the University of Exeter Medical School has identified Tom’s condition and pinpointed the single genetic mutation that causes it.

As well as allowing a better understanding of Tom’s condition, the discovery may have implications for his bid to participate in the Rio...

Golf enthusiasts will be taking to the green in July to play in one of Devon’s premier golf tournaments while raising money for Hospiscare.

More than 200 people have already signed up to take part in the Hospiscare Golf Day, being held on Thursday, July 11, where they will have the chance to take home the Marnie Burgoyne Memorial Trophy.

Now in its ninth year, the much-loved amateur tournament has raised approximately £80,000 and the event’s organisers are hoping that this amount will rise to £100,000 when they celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2014.

Held annually...

School children in Exmouth and Exeter are being encouraged to get active on their journey to school over the coming weeks.

Devon County Council and Sustrans are working in partnership through the Access to Education programme to get more young people in the Exeter, Exmouth, Newton Abbot and Totnes to walk, cycle or take public transport to school to help tackle congestion. The scheme is being piloted by eight local authorities, led by Devon County Council.

In Exeter and Exmouth, the project is currently working with three local primary schools - Pinhoe Church of England...

Last week, Sapphire Living hosted a glamorous evening of canapés and cocktails for its Bond-themed Night, including cars fit for 007 himself from Grange Aston Martin Exeter, not to mention exotic food demonstrations from co-author of the River Cottage Fish Book , Nick Fisher. Both Bang & Olufsen and SingleSwitch were on hand with some gadgets and home automation systems to give Q a run for his money. The successful event attracted approximately 60 people.

Photos: Matt Austin

Devon County Council remains one of the best performing authorities in the country for recycling, despite a slight fall in the recycling rate.

A report which will go before the Devon Authorities Waste Reduction and Recycling Committee later this week (19 June) shows that during 2012/13, Devon’s recycling centres continued to increase the amount of waste recycled, with a 2% rise helping them reach 80%. However, the county’s overall recycling rate decreased by 0.4% to 54.8%.

The reduction has been put down to the wet weather affecting garden waste quantities, which fell by 2...

Isca's centenary celebrations kick off in style this weekend. A two-day hockey festival at the University of Exeter has been organised, which will involve over 200 players. Reflecting Isca's contribution to Exeter's sporting community over the past 100 years, many ex-members return for the weekend and the players involved will range from 7-70 across genders.

Festivities will begin when Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw opens the weekend for the junior members. This will be followed by matches all day from past and present members, who have done so much to make Isca the success...