Students threaten boycott of Israeli goods
Attempts to persuade students to join a boycott of Israeli goods are raising fears that the bitterness of the Middle East conflict is spilling over onto British campuses. Tomorrow, Manchester United student union will debate a motion that accuses Israel of racism and apartheid-style policies and supports the Boycott Israeli Goods campaign. (Guardian)
Scientists rule out material transfer of BSE
Scientists have ruled out the theory that BSE or "mad cow" disease can be passed from a mother to her calf - a method of transmission thought possibly to explain continued new cases of the disease. (Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian)
Oxford graduate wins Times law prize
An Oxford Univeristy history graduate won first prize last night in The Times Law Awards. Mathew Gullick, 24, who wins £3,000 for his essay on "International terrorists: what role should the law play?" is taking the one-year conversion course at City University before studying for the Bar. (Times)
So you wanna be a pop idol?
Who wants to be a pop star? Ask the question of any class of sixth formers, take a step back and watch as a little instant forest of waving hands grows before your eyes. Small wonder that the higher education map of Britain is suddenly dotted with a rash of degree courses in popular music and performance studies. (Guardian)
Burning the candle at both ends
Learned papers are not the only thing produced by our academics. More and more are turning to creative writing. (Guardian)
British Library digitises Chaucer for the internet
Technicians at the British Library yesterday began the delicate, six month task of digitising the mother work of English literature, Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales . The project will open the book to a potential audience of millions through the internet. (Guardian)
Public services lobby set up
Chris Woodhead and Sir David Ramsbotham, who challenged the government on its management of schools and prisons respectively, lent their support to a new lobby group yesterday. Reform, an organistion set up by senior figures from the anti-Euro campaign, began with a pledge to push the case for radical ideas in the NHS, and other public services. (Daily Telegraph
Aspirin may aid unborn children
Aspirin could fight viruses that can damage the unborn child, a study by Princeton University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, New Jersey, shows. Over the past two decades, the painkiller has been found to reduce the risk of strokes, heart attacks and bowel and colon cancer, protect nerves and inspire treatments for adult-onset diabetes. (Daily Telegraph)
Longer days give hamsters the blues
In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. But the male hamster is more likely to be looking for a quiet place to lie down and snuffle. Scientists from Ohio State University have discovered that the arrival of spring makes Siberian hamsters more vulnerable to fevers, sickness and infection. (Daily Telegraph)