Second thoughts on graduate tax
Ministers have killed off proposals for a graduate tax to replace student loans following concerns in Downing Street that it would deter poorer students from university education. (Financial Times)
Racism 'rife', says report
Racial tensions are rife in universities, according to a survey by the AUT, with a large proportion of ethnic minority staff experiencing racial harassment, feeling unfairly treated in job applications, and believing that institutional racism exists in the academic workplace. (Guardian)
Professor fights US dismissal
A Palestinian professor about to be sacked by the University of South Florida on security grounds after expressing anti-Israel views on a television talk-show is fighting his dismissal, calling it an assault on academic freedom. Sami al-Arian, a computer science professor at USF for 16 years, described Israel as a source of terrorism in the Middle East when he was challenged on Fox News on September 28 last year about statements he had made 15 years earlier. (Guardian)
Tube driver and professor get call-up
A London Underground driver, a former mayor of Liverpool, and a university professor are in the first compulsory call-up of army reserves since the Suez crisis in 1956, the Ministry of Defence said yesterday. (Guardian, Financial Times)
Ecstasy use 'increases mental disorder'
Dancers at clubs who take ecstasy are 25 per cent more likely to have a mental disorder, according to a survey published yesterday. (Independent, Guardian, Daily Telegraph)
Test can uncover hidden diabetes
A blood test has been developed at Duke University, North Carolina, that could prolong the lives of millions of adults by detecting undiagnosed diabetes. The simple procedure, which has been designed for use in doctors' surgeries, can identify at least 75 per cent of cases, accurately assessing blood sugar levels over the previous two or three months. (Independent)
Children cope with divorce, says study
Divorce does not harm children in the large majority of cases, an American study claims. The conclusions, which run counter to most current thinking, follows a study of more than 1,400 families by psychologist Mavis Hetherington. (Daily Telegraph)
New fast test will identify DVT risks
A fast new test for deep vein thrombosis could help identify travellers at risk of potentially fatal blood clots, British doctors said yesterday. The test, developed at Nottingham University, uses magnetic resonance direct thrombus imaging, or MRDTI, to visualise clots within 12 minutes.