Government to reform university funding
Ministers want an end to "one size fits all" funding for up to 100 institutions in England so that the government can reward universities for excellence in areas other than research. The Higher Education Funding Council for England will develop the details. Ministers are keen however, to protect niche research successes at all universities. ( Financial Times )
Emergency laws to ban human cloning
New laws to ban human cloning are to be rushed through Parliament to plug a loophole exposed by the High Court yesterday in a case brought by the Pro-Life Alliance. Mr Justice Crane agreed with the argument from the Alliance that an organism created by cell nuclear replacement was not an embryo under present definitions and that the technique could not be outlawed. ( Times , Daily Telegraph , Guardian , Financial Times , Independent , Daily Mail )
Court denies right to smack
The right to smack is not a fundamental tenet of Christianity, a judge ruled yesterday, after 40 schools argued that banning corporal punishment restricted the rights of parents to practice their religion under the Human Rights Act. ( Guardian , Daily Telegraph , Independent )
Earlier test for Down's syndrome
Down's syndrome can be discovered by measuring at what age a foetus develops its nose, according to studies from researchers at Kings College Hospital, London. ( Times , Guardian )
Cancer-killing Trojan horse
A cancer treatment that works like a "Trojan horse", delivering a single radioactive atom inside cancer cells and then unleashing a shower of atomic fragments to kill them, has been developed by scientists at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. ( Daily Telegraph )
Immigration set to boost population
The Office for National Statistics has projected that Britain's population will grow to 65 million by 2025, mainly due to an increase in inward immigration, with fewer children being born and people living longer. ( Guardian , Financial Times )