Today's news

Students and universities condemn visa increase
University leaders and students joined forces to condemn higher visa charges announced by the Government today. The Foreign Office announced changes to visas which would mean overseas students have to pay £85 for an entry visa from July 1, up from £36. Vice-chancellors warned this would put off international students and risk the £10 billion they are worth to the UK economy each year. Foreign Office minister Douglas Alexander said in a statement to the Commons that the higher fees reflected the costs involved.
The Scotsman, The Guardian

Egypt under fire for censorship
The Egyptian government is stifling academic freedom in universities by censoring course books, preventing research into controversial issues and intimidating student activists, Human Rights Watch says in a report published today. "The government's persistent violations of academic freedom have badly undermined Egypt's standing as the educational leader of the Arab world," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of the Washington-based organisation.
The Guardian

Fall in Scots medical graduates
The Scottish Executive faced renewed calls to retain more trainee doctors yesterday after confirming that the number of people graduating from Scottish medical schools fell almost 8 per cent last year. A parliamentary answer from Andy Kerr, Health Minister, to the SNP’s Linda Fabiani also showed the proportion of 2004 graduates from the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow taking posts outside Scotland rose from 8.5 per cent the previous year to more than 11 per cent.
The Times

Top-up fees explained
This week Universities UK, the umbrella group for higher education, launched a campaign to explain top-up fees. A public information campaign has been badly needed to dispel misconceptions. Many students and parents think they will have to pay the £3,000 annual top-up fee at the start of the academic year. They will not. Students will pay once they have graduated and are earning £15,000. And then they will only pay a small repayment related to income. Moreover, students from less well off backgrounds will benefit from maintenance grants and bursaries.
The Independent

Scientific progress 'central to Africa's development'
The science academies of the G8 nations today issued a joint warning stating that attempts to tackle some of Africa's most pressing problems will fail unless developed countries help improve the continent's science base. The Royal Society in the UK, and the academies of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the US, along with the Network of African Science Academies, said science and technological innovations must be embedded into international assistance programmes. And, leaders must ensure that these initiatives are African-led and sensitive to social and cultural diversity.
The Guardian

New suspect implicated in the development of cancer
Tiny slugs of RNA dismissed until five years ago as genetic detritus now look as though they may play an important role in the development of human cancer. Already, “microRNA” molecules - which differ from ordinary messenger RNA in not carrying information for making proteins - are emerging as key gene switches regulating embryo development and cell replication. Now, three papers published this week provide the strongest evidence yet that mis-regulation of microRNAs might trigger development of cancers.
New Scientist

Close encounter with a comet set for Independence Day
Scientists are preparing to shoot a comet with a self-guided copper missile travelling at 100 times the speed of a bullet. The explosive encounter is set for 4 July - Independence Day in America - and it will be observed by astronomers around the world who hope it will shed light on the origin of the planets. By firing a relatively large object into the icy interior of a comet, scientists hope to dig out and analyse the primordial material that was around when the solar system formed more than four billion years ago.
The Independent

Why we are all getting younger as time goes by
You are probably younger than your age suggests, according to a study published today. Researchers have redefined what ageing means so it is not how long you have been alive that counts but, rather, how many years you have got left. In doing so, they are reflecting the common feeling that many nearing retirement are as vigorous as middle-aged people were a century ago. For example, the age of a woman who was 40 in 1900 is the same as the redefined or, as the researchers put it, the standardised average age of a 55-year-old today.
The Daily Telegraph

Scientists unveil 'clay' robots that will shape our world
Tiny robots that can turn into any shape - from a replica human to a banana - are being developed by scientists, Seth Goldstein and Todd Mowry, in the United States. The new science of claytronics, which will use nanotechnology to create tiny robots called catoms, should enable three-dimensional copies of people to be "faxed" around the world for virtual meetings. A doctor could also consult with a patient over the phone, even taking their pulse by holding the wrist of the claytronic replica.
New Scientist, The Scotsman