Today's news

Stem cell support
Swiss voters have overwhelmingly backed proposals for stem-cell research restricted to embryonic cells less than seven days old. Therapeutic cloning and trade in embryos would be banned.
The Times , Financial Times , Guardian , Independent

Cambridge architecture closure condemned
Eleven of Britain’s leading architectures have attacked the proposal by Cambridge University to close its architecture department because it failed to secure a 5 in the Research Assessment Exercise.
The Guardian

Oxford chemistry department woes
The cash starved chemistry department at Oxford University, which has been forced to pay its way with money earned from creating spin-off companies, has frozen 10 lecturing jobs and may have to give up one of its buildings.
Daily Telegraph

Shakeup for vocational qualifications
The Qualifications and Curriculum Agency has proposed a streamlined framework for vocational training and qualifications in England.
Financial Times

Foreign students encounter excessive drinking and racism
A survey of 5,000 international students in the UK has found suspicions of racism and dislike of a drinking culture.
Independent

Break-ups higher for MBAs
US two-year MBAs pile such pressures on relationships that up to 50 per cent do not survive.
Financial Times

MBA for soccer managers on the cards
The Cass Business School in London and the Football Association are to offer business education courses for professional managers, with an Executive MBA a possibility.
Financial Times

Working when ill hastens death
Scientists from University College London’s epidemiology unit say that 40 per cent of civil servants who never took time off when ill had twice the incidence of heart disease.
Daily Mail

A little of what you fancy…
Danish researchers say that people who drink frequently but in moderation are likely to outlive both heavier drinkers and teetotallers. The study, by the Centre for Alcohol Research in Copenhagen, is based on 57,000 Danes aged 55-65.
The Times

Tomato sauce
An international effort to map the DNA sequence of the tomato includes scientists from Imperial College, the University of Warwick, and the Scottish Crop Research Institute.
The Guardian

Airlines ‘to blame’ for increase in air rage
David Canter of Liverpool University’s Centre for Investigative Psychology calls for more research into air rage and suggested aggressive advertising, smoking bans, and poor service are to blame.
The Times

Hobbyists better than professional
Think tank Demos is to report that amateur technologists and scientists outstrip professionals in "almost any field" and call on the Government to harness their skills.
The Times