Today's news

Edinburgh eases entry rules to lure state pupils
Edinburgh University cut academic admission requirements for most of its courses yesterday to encourage more applicants from state schools. Its move was given a cool reception by bodies representing private schools, which claimed it would undermine the value of A-levels. In future, Edinburgh will consider anyone who achieves the minimum requirement, with a host of other factors - including educational background, home town and disability - being taken into account
(Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Independent)

Turtle hurtles towards extinction
Leatherback sea turtles, the one-ton giants that once swam with the dinosaurs, could be driven to extinction within ten years, scientists warned yesterday. Researchers have found that numbers of leatherbacks are falling by 20 per cent a year in some parts of the world because of industrial fishing and destroyed nesting sites. The creatures were long thought to be immune from extinction because they live over such a wide area. But, the association was told, the number of nesting females had fallen by more than 95 per cent over the last 22 years, making them the most endangered sea turtles.
(Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Independent, Times)

Lesbian Japanese monkeys challenge Darwin
The promiscuous sex life of lesbian Japanese monkeys is challenging one of the central tenets of Charles Darwin. He argued that females are coy, mate rarely and choose mates to ensure the best genetic inheritance for their offspring, while males are promiscuous and fight among themselves for female partners. But after studying Japanese macaques in the wild, a researcher from the University of Lethbridge, Canada, begs to differ. He found that bisexuality is common in females and that they often compete with males for sexual partners.
(Daily Telegraph, Independent, Times)

Higher and further education awards
A 16-page special report on the latest winners of the Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education.
(Times)

Educated, ambitious and scared
An Oxford student reflects on the difficulties today's graduates face in choosing the right career.
(Daily Telegraph)

UEA's founding v-c dies
The historian and founding vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia, Frank Thistlethwaite, has died aged 87.
(Independent)