Today's news

Third of medical students claim to be bullied in training
More than one in three medical students has been bullied by doctors or nurses at some point during their training, a poll revealed yesterday. In the British Medical Association survey, it was found that 35 per cent of students had experienced bullying, including racial and sexual discrimination while at university or during hospital placements. Of 260 students who responded, almost one in four had been bullied by a doctor, and one in six had been bullied by a nurse.
The Scotsman, The Evening Standard

Oxford appoints its first female registrar
Oxford University has broken with centuries of tradition and appointed a woman as its most senior administrator. Julie Maxton worked alongside Oxford's new vice-chancellor at Auckland University and will become Oxford's first female registrar since the post was created 550 years ago. The registrar is head of university administration and is responsible for implementing policy and ensuring compliance with new legislation. However, some senior staff claim the announcement is further proof that the vice-chancellor, John Hood, is planning a major overhaul of the way the university is run.
The Guardian

University of Texas acquires Mailer papers
The Pulitzer prize-winning author Norman Mailer has sold his papers to the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Centre at the University of Texas for $2.5 million (£1.3 million). The archive contains manuscripts and other materials on Mailer's work from the mid-1930s to the present. It includes first editions and foreign editions of his books, materials he used for research and books given to him by other authors. It also includes correspondence with such literary figures as Allen Ginsberg, Lillian Hellman, Aldous Huxley, and Truman Capote.
The Guardian

£250m a month saved for education
Parents are cutting down on nights out, takeaway meals and holidays to save more than £250 million a month for their children’s education. Fears about the spiralling graduate debts, which are forecast to rise to more than £20,000 within three years, are forcing parents to put away on average £36 a month for the future. Although academics give warning of a graduate glut, as the Government nears its target of 50 per cent of young people attending university by 2010, parents and employers increasingly see a degree as a passport to a good career. To offset the debts of higher education nearly half of all families are choosing to cut back.
The Times

Bars shut as students go out in style
A university is to close its last two bars because students don’t drink in them enough. The bars at Napier University’s Merchiston and Craiglockhart campuses have run up a combined loss of £41,000. Competition from style bars and high street pubs has been blamed for the failure of the traditional student union bars. Napier once boasted four student bars at its city campuses. But the attraction of cheap drinks in less salubrious surroundings appears to have faded as a growing number of upmarket bars have opened in the area.
The Scotsman

Doubt cast on needle therapy for migraine
Acupuncture is no better at reducing migraines than fake treatment, researchers say today. A study involving more than 300 patients found the healing method did reduce headaches, but only by the same amount as placing needles at non-acupuncture points. Recent studies have shown the needle treatment to be effective for relieving pain and improving function in osteoarthritis sufferers.
The Daily Telegraph, The Scotsman

Researchers hail chemotherapy resistance breakthrough
A scientist has completed the first global study into why some breast cancer sufferers are resistant to chemotherapy drugs, it has emerged. The research, carried out by Dr Andrew Schofield at Aberdeen University, looked a how the drug docetaxel worked on certain patients. Dr Schofield and his team looked at human genetic material and identified two chromosomes, seven and 10, that are altered in breast cancer cells resistant to the drug.
The Daily Mail, The Scotsman