Today's news

Forget oil, overseas students make money
A boom in demand for higher education could triple the number of foreign students at British universities to 870,000 by 2020, a new report concluded yesterday. Britain could earn £13 billion a year from international students in higher education by 2020 in addition to the £3 billion they currently contributed to the economy.
( Times , Guardian )

Increase in overseas students could cost Britons their places
British school-leavers could be squeezed by an increasing number of overseas students, it was claimed yesterday. (See ' Foreign drive cuts UK places ', Times Higher , March 26)
( Daily Mail , Independent )

Dolly scientist wants to clone human embryos
A leading British scientist announced today that he wants to clone human embryos, saying it would be "immoral" not to carry out the research. Professor Ian Wilmut, who headed the team which created Dolly the sheep, is applying for the UK’s first licence to clone human embryos.
( The Times )

Scientists warn over bio-terror
Leading scientists have warned that the government needs to find better ways of dealing with chemical and biological agents. The problem was investigated by the Royal Society after the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States. The Royal Society's findings are expected to echo those from the Commons Science and Technology Committee which were rejected by the government last year.
( Daily Telegraph )

Iron Age discovery may be missing link
A missing piece from a 2,000-year-old necklace unearthed by a farm labourer 29 years ago may have been found in a field near by. The gold necklace, or torque, had one of its two end rings missing when it was found at Sedgeford, Norfolk. Local historians have now found an end ring and experts at the British Museum, where the torque is kept, are to check whether the pieces match.
( The Times , Independent )

Pack away those pens, the age of online exams is at hand
That chilling phrase which has haunted generations of nerve-wracked schoolchildren into their adulthood - "You may turn over your paper now" - could soon disappear. The head of the government's exam regulator yesterday signalled the imminent end of the conventional paper-and-pencil exam when he predicted that all youngsters could be taking their national tests, GCSE and A-level exams on screen at a computer in just five years' time.
( The Guardian )

Turning pages without cracks or tears
You have been allowed to handle one of the world's oldest and most precious books - and as you turn the pages, you notice with horror that the paper is starting to crinkle under your finger. From today this frisson of nightmare can be shared by all the 10 million UK households that are online. The British Library has put 10 of its greatest and rarest literary treasures, from the Lindisfarne Gospels to the world's earliest dated printed book, the Diamond Sutra , on to the internet.
( The Guardian )

Is it 'Ewropeja' or 'Ewropea'?
Two weeks before Malta enters the European Union, there is lingering confusion over how exactly to spell "European Union." Some Maltese spell it Unjoni Ewropeja . But Vanni Bruno, who heads the government's efforts to translate European laws into Maltese, insists that it should be spelled Unjoni Ewropea , without the final "j." He accuses those who favour the "j" of living in the past. It used to be taboo in Maltese to have two consecutive vowels, he said. "But that was at a time when it was, with all due respect, a farmer's language," Bruno said.
( International Herald Tribune )

Old records saved by particle physics
Particle physicists in California are swapping bosons for basslines in a bid to breathe fresh life into the earliest sound recordings. A technique developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory allows researchers to create digital copies of old records without damaging the fragile discs.
( Nature )

Can you afford to study here?
Universities should publish estimates of living costs their students face.
( Daily Telegraph )

How much cash do uni need?
City-by-city guide to student expenses.
( Daily Mirror )