Charge students £15,000 a year
Students would be forced to pay fees of up to £15,000 a year under plans being drawn up by one of Britain's leading universities. The figure is quoted by Sir Richard Sykes, the rector of Imperial College, London, in the most detailed blueprint yet devised for top-up charges. Sir Richard, expects that the government will remove the cap on fees in its forthcoming review of higher education. A confidential paper, seen by The Times Higher Education Supplement , calculates that it costs Imperial £10,500 a year to teach each undergraduate - £2,800 more than it receives in fees and government grants for home and European Union students.
(Times, Financial Times, Guardian, Daily Telegraph)
HRT toothpaste may keep women smiling
Women seeking to counteract the effects of the menopause may soon be able to do it by simply brushing their teeth. Scientists at the University of Texas Medical School have developed a toothpaste that provides hormone replacement therapy. Their research has shown that controlled, long-lasting doses of oestrogen can be administered effectively in this way.
(Times)
Grid to improve cancer screening
Britain is to build a powerful computing grid to improve the screening and diagnosis of breast cancer. A prototype system will link mammography centres in Oxford, London, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The project, called eDiamond, is part of the government's £118 million eScience initiative.
(Financial Times)
Snows of Kilimanjaro gone by 2020
The famous snows of Kilimanjaro will have disappeared by 2020, scientists from Ohio State University and the University of Massachusetts report in the journal Science today. The glaciers on top of Africa's highest mountain have lost more than 80 per cent of their surface area since 1900 as a result of global warming.
(Guardian, Financial Times)
Empty bin bag wins £30,000 art prize
An artist has won one of the biggest art prizes in Britain with a bin bag full of air. Ceal Floyer, 34, was among the artists awarded £30,000 by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, for Rubbish Bag . She said: "It's not a bag of rubbish, it's a rubbish bag. The medium is clearly portrayed: it says it is a bag, air and a twisted top."
(Times)
The oven that's a fridge
It is the ultimate kitchen appliance for today's busy lifestyle - an oven that is also a fridge. Inventors say the device, which can be programmed to start cooking at a specified time, is the first to be able to both heat and cool food. The Polara, available in the UK next year at around £1,200, can even cater for unexpected delays by turning back into a fridge if you are late.
(Daily Mail)
'My family call me a dunderhead'
As TV's most popular historian, Simon Schama earns millions, so why does he still feel inadequate?
(Daily Telegraph)