Britain to defy UN vote on cloning
The United Nations yesterday approved a declaration urging governments to ban all forms of human cloning, including the cloning of human embryos for stem cell research. In a victory for the Bush administration in the US, the 191-nation assembly voted 84 to 34, with 37 abstentions, to endorse the declaration recommended by its legal committee last month. Britain voted against the declaration, saying it would damage research into stem cell therapies for serious diseases.
The Guardian, New Scientist
New Maths wing opens with a Big Bang
Heriot-Watt University will celebrate the opening of a new maths and computer sciences wing with a talk by acclaimed broadcaster, Simon Singh. The block was built in a bid to deal with a doubling in student numbers in those subjects over a decade. Dr Singh, author of Fermat’s Last Theorem and The Code Book, will talk about the theory that describes the origin, history and evolution of the universe. He will also talk about how new scientific ideas are invented, developed and adopted.
The Scotsman
Women to benefit most from new jobs
Most of the jobs to be created over the next decade will be taken by women, according to research presented to the Women and Work Commission. The prediction by Warwick University's Institute for Employment Research suggests that women rather than men will continue to be the main beneficiaries from rises in employment, taking more than 1 million of the 1.3 million new jobs in the next 10 years. The male employment rate has remained static for more than four years at about 79 per cent and never returned to the levels of the late 1980s. But the female rate has continued to rise, reaching almost 70 per cent.
The Financial Times
'Safer' stem cells bring therapies closer
Completely fresh supplies of human embryonic stem cells have been created for the first time without having to grow them on potentially contaminating mouse "feeder" cells. Nor do they need to be nourished with serum derived from animals. The breakthrough boosts the prospects of growing safe tissues for transplant from embryonic stem cells - the unspecialised, primitive cells in the embryo from which all tissues originate.
New Scientist
Launch of Second Multicultural Awards on Competitiveness and Enterprise
Today, the University of Luton is launching the second Multicultural Awards for Competitiveness and Enterprise (MACE 2005).This is open to all UK businesses that have embraced diversity in their business strategies. Applicants must demonstrate their achievements through gender, ethnic or national diversity in the workplace.
The Scotsman
Bristol students celebrate cultural diversity
Students from Bristol University will be celebrating the cultural diversity within the city today as part of Global Fiesta, a one-day event that aims to bring people together to experience the wealth of cultures within Bristol through entertainment, interaction and education. The event seeks to increase cultural awareness, respect and understanding, with numerous stalls representing different cultures and students demonstrating their skills in activities like henna art, origami and Chinese writing.
The Scotsman
Nuclear physicist dies at 98
Hans Bethe was one of the world’s greatest scientists, unusually highly respected by the scientific community. He made considerable contributions to the development of the atomic bomb and nuclear energy during the Second World War. But he was best known for his work on developing a theory for the production of energy in stars. For this, he was awarded the 1967 Nobel Prize. Hans Albrecht Bethe was born in 1906 in Strasbourg, Alsace (then in the German Empire), where his father was a distinguished physiologist. The family later moved to Frankfurt, where Bethe went to school at the Gymnasium from 1915 to 1924.
The Times, New Scientist