University to banish 'discriminatory' Holy Book into wilderness
Edinburgh University is set to ban Bibles from its student halls of residence amid concern that the Holy Book is “discriminatory” and makes students of other faiths feel unwelcome. The move is the result of protests from the students’ association and is being considered in an effort to pursue a policy of “evenly supporting all faiths”, a university spokesman said yesterday. A Gideon Bible is traditionally placed in every new student’s room at the start of the academic year and there are currently around 2,000 Bibles in the Pollock Halls campus on the edge of Holyrood Park.
The Times, The Scotsman
University named as UK's first Unesco base
Dundee University is to become the first Unesco centre in Britain, playing a key role in shaping the management of the world's water resources on behalf of the United Nation's agency, it was revealed yesterday. The university's International Water Law Research Institute is to become the hub of the International Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
The Scotsman
Executive blamed over drop in Scots students
The Scottish Executive has been accused of putting youngsters off attending university by increasing tuition fees. 2005 figures from UCAS show the number of Scots applying for university places fell to ,646, down from ,928 in 2004. SNP education spokeswoman Fiona Hyslop called the fees rise "a move which could backfire badly in an expanding European higher education market".
The Scotsman
Advance in blood pressure research
Patients could one day be able to lower their blood pressure at the flick of a switch, new research suggested. A team from Oxford University and Imperial College London have been conducting research showing that stimulating parts of the brain with electrodes can change a patient's blood pressure. But because of the invasive nature of the technique, it is unlikely it would be used in anything but the most extreme cases that have not responded to other treatments.
The Daily Mail
Terracotta army may be guarding buried treasure
China's terracotta army appears to have been guarding more than just the body of the country's first emperor after a magnetic scan revealed what appeared to be buried treasure. New images of the 2,000-year-old imperial resting place showed a bounty of coins scattered about in the sealed-off tomb. There are a "remarkable amount of coins", officials said. The find has led Chinese and German archaeologists studying the remains to conclude that the emperor may have been buried with his state treasure.
The Independent
Why music makes you exercise 20% harder
Research by Costas Karageorghis, a sports psychologist at Brunel University, suggests that the right music can lift a person’s athletic performance by as much as 20 per cent. Dr Karageorghis found that athletes who ran while listening to “synchronous” music - when the beats fitted with the rhythm of body movement - could endure a fifth more exertion than those without.
The Times, The Scotsman
Stage is set for female science student drama
A play that encourages female pupils to study science is to tour several Lothian secondary schools. Stars From the Hilltop, by drama graduates from Queen Margaret University College, will be performed at Portobello High, Tynecastle High, St Margaret's Academy in Livingston and Broxburn Academy. The play is part of a scheme called Stage SET, aimed at boosting Scottish universities' intake of women studying for careers in science, engineering and technology.
The Scotsman
Young, footloose - and broke
Feature on graduate debt.
The Daily Telegraph