Inca fastness found
One of the Inca strongholds against the conquering Spanish has been discovered in Peru by a Royal Geographical Society team. American archaeologist Gary Ziegler and British writer and explorer Hugh Thomson led the team that found the Cota Coca site. (Independent, Mail)
Head teachers say state education spending must rise
Spending on education must rise to £73 billion a year by 2005-06 from £58 billion this year to fund schools properly and protect thousands of threatened jobs, say school heads. The demand came at the National Association of Head Teachers' annual conference in Torquay. (Financial Times, Times, Guardian, Independent)
British Museum faces strike
The British Museum is facing industrial action for the first time in 20 years as staff protest over plans to cut 150 jobs to help tackle a £5 million shortfall. (Times, Telegraph)
Academic on hunger strike in Israel
Birmingham University research fellow Josie Sandercock is on hunger strike in an Israeli prison after being arrested as part of military operations in a Palestinian refugee camp. Ms Sandercock was with a group of foreign nationals visiting the camp as peace monitors. (Times, Telegraph, Independent)
Science discovers key to penalties
David Seaman, the England goalkeeper, could prevent another World Cup penalty disaster by learning a new technique for reading the direction of a spotkick from the striker’s shoulders, according to researchers at the University of Greenwich. (Times, Independent)
Rare iguanas threatened by oil spill
The impact of the oil spill that hit the Galapagos Islands last year has been much worse than initially thought, killing almost two-thirds of the rare iguanas found in parts of the archipelago. The study is led by Martin Wikelski of Princeton University in the US. (Times, Guardian, Telegraph)
Mind games ‘answer’ to Alzheimer’s
Simple self-help measures and treatment by doctors have been shown by research to reduce or remove the risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. There is no need to wait years for the discovery of drugs to fight the predicted epidemic of the disease in an ageing population, according to Lawrence Whalley, professor of mental health at Aberdeen University. (Guardian)
Lessons from abroad on raising participation
If Tony Blair wants more young people to go to university, he should look to France and the US, says Lucy Hodges. (Independent)
Why college lecturers are revolting
Further education lecturers’ pay has fallen behind school teachers yet both groups teach the same students. No wonder they are striking, says Neil Merrick. (Independent)
Seriously young blood for education
Education gets a dose of youthful radicalism in the form of the new schools minister David Miliband. (Independent)
London – the academic capital of the world
London has more students and universities than any city in the world, which gives it enormous diversity. (Independent)
A testing decade
In his final column as Times education editor, John O’Leary looks back on a period of revolution. Mr O'Leary takes up the post of THES editor this month. (Times)
Lecturer with penchant for bondage exposed
Pictures of an economics lecturer in half-naked poses wearing leather bondage gear have been circulated around the ward he represents as a councillor for York City Council. (Mail)
New drugs could hinder bone healing
Painkillerrs used in sport to help players perform while injured might hinder the healing of broken bones, researchers have warned. Jeremy Saklatvala, of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in London, voices his concerns in New Scientist magazine. (Independent, Times, Mail)
Longer lives increase incidence of cancer
Europe’s richest countries have high rates of cancer because they have a large proportion of elderly people and can help victims of the disease to live longer, a study by an international team of scientists shows. The findings appear in the journal Annals of Oncology. (Independent, Times)
Moby Dick is nature’s perfect ram-raider
US scientists have found the secret weapon that enables sperm whales to ram ships without damaging themselves. Researchers at the University of Utah have discovered that the spermaceti organ in the whale’s head allows it to headbutt an enemy without hurting itself. (Mail, Telegraph)