Today's news

Teaching of maths in spiral of decline, say dons
Maths teaching in schools and universities has entered "a spiral of decline" and the Government has failed to grasp the nature of the crisis, leading mathematicians said in a report yesterday. They said the performance of more able pupils had collapsed; the numbers taking A-level maths were falling dramatically; those with top grades were "increasingly innumerate and even ineducable"; the shortage of qualified maths teachers had reached "dangerous" levels; national test results were grossly inflated; and postgraduates with a PhD in maths from a British university were now "largely unemployable" in British universities.
The Daily Telegragh

Fresh push to explain top-up fees
The Government is to launch a further multimillion-pound advertising campaign to promote its new top-up fees policy. The minister now in charge of the policy admits that the Government has so far failed to explain variable fees properly to students and their parents. Bill Rammell, who was appointed higher education minister in the reshuffle that followed the general election in May and was in the past equivocal on tuition fees, also admits that he thinks the Government was wrong to have dropped maintenance grants back in 1998.
The Guardian

Gates gives millions to fund British fight against TB and Aids
British scientists working on five ground-breaking projects to fight disease will be named today as recipients of the largest individual research grants in history, awarded by Bill Gates, the Microsoft billionaire. Mr Gates, the world’s richest man and greatest philanthropist, is donating $436 million (£240 million) to 43 laboratory projects vital to the world’s greatest health challenges. A grant of £11 million will go to Imperial College London for research on tuberculosis therapies. Another London project, to try to develop an Aids vaccine, gets £10.7 million.
The Times, The Daily Telegragh, The Guardian

Academics urge fresh approach to science teaching
Scientists have demanded tougher action from the Government to protect and promote their subjects in universities. A report is expected today from the Higher Education Funding Council for England on how it intends to support subjects deemed to be of strategic importance to the economy. It was commissioned by Charles Clarke, the former Education Secretary, who was alarmed by universities deciding to cancel courses and close departments in science, engineering and modern languages.
The Financial Times

Glazer's Man Utd bid unfair, says academic
Malcolm Glazer's £800 million takeover of Manchester United should be referred to the Competition Commission on the grounds that it will lead to excessive and unjustified increases in ticket prices, an expert on football governance has said. Christine Oughton of the Birkbeck Football Governance Research Centre at the University of London claims the price rises will not be reflected in an improvement in the quality of the team and may trigger similar increases at other clubs.
The Independent

Climate change 'to drown Britain'
Sea-level rise caused by climate change could turn Britain into a string of islands, a study published today suggests. Rises could drown the centre of London and leave many low-lying cities and coastal towns waterlogged, including Edinburgh, Newcastle upon Tyne, Scunthorpe, Bristol, Plymouth, Norwich, Peterborough and Bournemouth, according to the Benfield Hazard Research Centre at University College London.
The Independent, The Times

Scientists go cold on vitamin C
One of the most enduring health notions has been exposed as a myth: research has found that vitamin C will do nothing to stop you catching a cold. A review of 55 studies has shown that even large regular doses of the vitamin do not reduce the risk of contracting a common cold. People who took daily doses of up to 2g of vitamin C - 33 times more than the recommended daily amount - caught colds at the same rate as those who took an inert placebo instead, the analysis shows.
The Times

Letters
Regarding the diminishing pool of EU science graduates.
The Times

Letter
Regarding student top-up fees for families with a £30K income.
The Guardian