Today's news

No place at Oxford for girl who scored 100%
A student who is the only ever to have achieved a perfect score in her Greek A level has been refused a place to read classics at Oxford University.
(Daily Mail)

Students of today need to be ‘spoon-fed’
Summary of The Times Higher ’s survey of academics under 40, in which lecturers say that students today need to be spoon-fed.
(Daily Mail)

Vandal scrawls the secret of DNA in the road
The code for part of a chemical compound found in DNA has been spray-painted on the road outside Cambridge University’s Cavendish Laboratory, where the key to life was discovered half a century ago.
(Daily Mail, The Times)

Western scientists may hold key to nuclear breakthrough

Report on how North Korea’s decision to allow certain scientists to engage in joint research with their Western counterparts promises a rare opening in a closed society.
(Financial Times)

Sun-starved Britons cancer risk
Pale-faced Britons who do not get enough sun during winter months are left with insufficient levels of vitamin D, increasing their risk of cancer, diabetes and bone diseases, experts at the University of East Anglia have said.
(The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, Financial Times)

Asthma link to white blood cell toxins
A type of white blood cell has been identified as being directly responsible for the development of asthma, according to two US studies. The findings are published in the journal Science.
(The Independent)

Doubts of suicide verdicts
Miscarriages of justice are "almost certainly" taking place because of a mistaken belief that it is possible to calculate from blood analysis at a post-mortem examination how many tablets somebody swallowed before they died, according to an article in the British Medical Journal.
(The Guardian)

Beating childhood sweet tooth
Bad diets in childhood may be outgrown by the time people reach their 30s, a study by Newcastle University researchers has found. Their findings are published in Appetite.
(The Times)

Language template is innate
Infants are born with an innate blueprint for acquiring language, a study by scientists, including researchers from Bristol University, has shown. The findings are published in the journal Science.
(The Times)

Brain changes help case for dose of drugs
Researchers at King’s College London say that children with a severe form of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have treatable differences.
(Financial Times)