From today's UK papers

Financial Times

Blood from a newborn's umbilical cord can rebuild the blood supply of adults with leukaemia and other fatal blood diseases, according to a study from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have successfully produced tiny short-wavelength lasers from microscopic wires.

A new technique of magnet assembly developed by a physicist at the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils in the United Kingdom could be used to create mobile magnetic resonance imaging scanners.

The Guardian

An independent report from Cardiff University, commissioned by the Welsh Assembly, will propose the abolition of upfront tuition fees for Welsh students.

The Independent

Alan Ryan, warden of New College, Oxford, argues that Gordon Brown's budget decisions were made at the expense of hard-up students.

Ethnic minority students at Greenwich University are benefiting from mentoring, one of the big ideas of new Labour.

Daily Mail

A study published by Bristol University reveals that longer legs have always been associated with longer lifespans.

Daily Telegraph

Key skills tests for sixth formers are likely to be a casualty of the inquiry into AS-levels ordered by education secretary Estelle Morris.

The Times

The British Library is planning to abandon its policy of collecting everything that is published.

The Pergamum Museum in Berlin is to return archaeological treasures to their ancient site at Olympia in a cultural exchange that could have implications for Greece's campaign to have the Parthenon Marbles returned from the British Museum.

Miscellany

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development report on education: Better education is a factor behind economic growth in all leading economies, but especially in Britain ( Financial Times ). Britain spends less on education, produces fewer well-educated young adults and is teaching students in bigger classes than other industrialised countries ( Guardian ). A frightening gap in adult literacy standards in Britain is revealed ( Independent ). The devastating legacy of decades of failure in Britain's schools has been exposed ( Daily Mail ). Britain leads the world in higher education, but is being overtaken by a growing number of nations in secondary schooling ( Times ).

Scientists working for Serono, Europe's largest biotechnology company, have found a way to mass-produce prions, the infectious particles that cause brain diseases such as BSE in cattle and CJD in humans.  A simple blood test to diagnose CJD could be available soon as the result. ( Financial Times , Guardian ; from Nature )

Even very gentle shaking could kill a baby, doctors at the Royal London Hospital and Sheffield University have found. ( Independent , Daily Telegraph , Times ).

Edexcel, the exam board, has begun an investigation after an A-level maths examination due to be taken today was leaked and was allegedly being offered for sale to students. ( Guardian , Daily Telegraph , Times )