Teacher shortage 'may hit 40,000'
Schools will be short of more than 40,000 teachers within five years unless the profession is remodelled, the government admitted. Estelle Morris, the education secretary, said the present demand for extra teachers was 'unsustainable'. (The Times, Independent, Guardian, Financial Times)
Lighter touch
University teaching inspections could be over in less than five days with little or no review of external subjects, according to a draft document from the Quality Assurance Agency's acting head, Peter Williams. (The Guardian)
Desperately seeking professors
The arts and humanities research board is trying to overhaul the way academic careers are organised. Sir Brian Follett has been hired to chair a new inquiry. (The Guardian)
WTO agrees a breakthrough deal on drug patent talks
Negotiators at the World Trade Organisation summit agreed a tentative deal last night that would make it easier for poor countries to break patents on drugs needed to treat some of the world's most horrific health problems. (Independent, Times, Guardian, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph)
GCSE move could let pupils leave school at 15
All pupils should take the GCSE a year earlier and spent three years rather than two in the sixth form, the government's chief adviser on exams and the curriculum said yesterday. Heralding a significant shake-up in secondary education, David Hargreaves said the move would achieve the government's aim of combining breadth and depth and open up more vocational opportunities for pupils. (Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail)
Schools lure lecturers
Universities are warning of a crisis as lecturers drift into schools. (The Guardian)
A farewell to arms
Students who have long campaigned for ethical investment by their universities are finally winning the argument. (The Guardian)
Newby calls for wider reward of excellence
Sir Howard Newby, chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, says excellence should be rewarded in areas other than research, or else we risk losing quality. (The Guardian)
First step in hunt for leukaemia vaccine
Collaborators from the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust and Liverpool and Nottingham Trent universities have identified an important protein marker in leukaemia cells that could provide a "way forward" to targeting the cancer cells and devising ways of stimulating the body's natural defences against them. (Daily Telegraph)
Women's brain cells denser than men's
Women's grey matter is packed more densely with brain cells than that of men in the frontal lobe, a region that plays an important role in higher mental processes, according to researchers at McMaster University, Ontario. (Daily Telegraph)
Short legs link to diabetes
Men who have short legs are more likely to develop diabetes and heart disease, researchers at Bristol University have discovered. (Daily Telegraph)