Today's news

RSPCA outrage as experiments on animals rise to 2.85m
The number of scientific experiments on animals rose by 63,000 last year to just over 2.85 million, according to data released by the Home Office yesterday. Most of the increase was from work on rats and mice; the number of procedures on non-human primates dropped by 12 per cent in the same period compared with 2003. Anti-vivisection groups expressed concern at the figures.
The Guardian

Lecturers demand top-up fee handout
Lecturers yesterday threatened all UK universities with industrial action over pay, including refusing to set and mark students' exams. The Association of University Teachers and the other main lecturers' union Natfhe - which have agreed to merge - are demanding that at least one third of the extra income from top-up fees and additional university grants will be spent on improving staff pay.
The Guardian

Pupils are given a daunting lesson in Olympic fervour
Students hoping to make the grade for university entry in China next year will have a new subject added to their already exhausting exam curriculum: Olympic knowledge. The addition is part of the frenzy gripping China since the capital, Beijing, won the right to host the 2008 Olympics. Hoardings on every main street carry advertisements heralding the Games.
The Times

Stem cell tissue bank 'practical'
Stem cells taken from just ten human embryos could stock a national bank with suitable tissue for treating about 80 per cent of the British population, scientists have found. Research at the University of Cambridge suggests that it will be practical to match embryonic stem cells to patients without recourse to cloning, removing a barrier to using the master cells to treat disease.
The Times

Payment by results works for teachers
The smartest question for a parent to ask a teacher about their child's exam chances might well be: "What's in it for you?" A study of 180 teachers by researchers at Bristol University reveals that the pupils of those eligible for £2,000 performance-related pay bonuses are likely to score half a grade higher in their GCSEs. The pay bonuses were introduced by Labour six years ago against a background of widespread opposition from the teaching profession.
The Independent