Today's news

British professor dies in Italian escalator accident
A British academic died yesterday when an escalator she was using in a Rome railway station collapsed, trapping her in its moving cogwheels. Sally Baldwin, 63, fell into a cavity which opened up when the structure collapsed at Tiburtina station. Two other people were injured after desperately trying to free her. Italian magistrates opened an inquiry yesterday. Professor Baldwin was the former director of the social policy research unit at York University.
( Daily Telegraph )

Student shot in Gaza to have life support turned off
A British student left brain dead after being shot by an Israeli soldier six months ago is set to have his life support machine switched off. Tom Hurndall, 22, a photography student at Manchester Metropolitan University, was shot while recording the work of a peace group in Gaza and the activities of the Israeli army.
( Independent )

Tory council academic to commute from Canada to Essex
Despite a divide of 2,900 miles, David Divine, a Conservative councillor for Chingford, Essex, has insisted that he can fulfil his municipal obligations by commuting once a month from Nova Scotia to meetings of Waltham Forest council. He has been appointed lecturer in black Canadian studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
( Independent )

Meningitis fear at Bristol
Bristol University, where Tony Blair's son Euan attends, has been hit by a meningitis B outbreak. Two students at have recovered but there are two more suspected cases. Antibiotics have been given to 3,000 students.
( Sun )

Chemists to tackle royal grave's secret
The Royal Society of Chemistry is to try to discover the nature of a pool of unidentified liquid found in the coffin of Edward IV when his body was exhumed from Westminster Abbey's crypt in the 18th century. The preserved liquid's existence has only just come to light.
( Times )

Science comes to the aid of art
The Royal Society of Chemistry has helped restore one of the wonders of the early Renaissance, Dream of the Virgin , by the 14th-century Bolognese painter Simone dei Crocefissi. It has been invisible for more than 600 years, having been covered with gold paint and turned into a more conventional crucifixion study.
( Guardian )

Fatty diet increases breast cancer risk
Researchers at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Canada have found that women whose diets are rich in meat and saturates fats are up to 20 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer. The findings are published today in the British Journal of Cancer .
( Daily Mail, Times )

Ginger could become effective cancer weapon
Scientists at the University of Minnesota report today that the ginger slows the advance of human bowel cancer in mice. They believe it may have a similar effect on humans and could also combat other cancers.
( Times )