Postage sent packing

It seems that cost cutting at the research councils knows no bounds. This year's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council annual report was sent to academics without the postage paid - forcing them to fork out Pounds 1.88 to receive a copy. One riled materials scientist said this could have cost universities thousands of pounds.

It is, however, only a drop in the ocean compared with the council's annual £500 million budget, which you can read all about in the report, of course.