Today's news

Dundee blames planned cuts on pay deal
A university's announcement of plans to cut jobs has raised fears that the effects of last year's inflation-busting pay rise for lecturers are starting to bite. Dundee University also wants to cut courses to turn around a deficit of more than £3 million. The university was one of several that warned that the lecturers' pay deal, worth 13.1 per cent over three years, was at the "limits of affordability". Sir Alan Langlands, the principal, yesterday said staff costs were rising "more quickly than anticipated" as a result of the deal.”
The Scotsman

Protests continue in Athens against education reform plans
A mass march of students, teachers and university academics is due to be staged in Athens today in the latest show of opposition to government-proposed educational reforms. Major roads into central Athens are due to be blocked off by police for the marchers, while riot police are preparing for possible outbreaks of violence. During and after a student rally last Wednesday, breakaway groups set fire to several cars, broke windows and threw petrol bombs at riot police, who responded by firing tear gas. University academics nationwide have called a 48-hour strike starting on Wednesday, while teachers will hold rolling strikes.
The Guardian

Gap-year graduates face a 'career crisis'
Graduates who take a gap year abroad after university are facing a "career crisis", according to research released today. Uncertain of the career they want to pursue, they are taking low-paid administration jobs when they return home, says the Training Development Agency for Schools. It found that almost one in four graduates aged between 20 and 30 was struggling to find the right career, with more than half (58 per cent) doing a job they disliked. Having opted for a "quick fix" job or spent time travelling, one in four said they were now worried about being left behind their contemporaries.
The Daily Telegraph, The Times

Cancer research firm leads Scottish trade mission to US
An Edinburgh cancer research organisation is among eight Scottish companies and university bodies travelling to the US on a trade mission. Scientists from Nexus Oncology, which was founded eight years ago by Clare Wareing, are heading to Massachusetts for a trip designed to strengthen links with the global pharmaceutical companies based in the region. Edinburgh University is also sending researchers to take part in the event, which is led by Scottish Development International's life sciences team.
The Scotsman

University's life-saving investment
A university medical centre has bought a £950 defibrillator with help from the British Heart Foundation Scotland. The training equipment was jointly funded by Heriot-Watt University and the charity. Victor de Lima, physician in charge of the Heriot-Watt Medical Centre, said: "We greatly appreciate this invaluable piece of life-saving equipment and wish to extend our thanks to British Heart Foundation Scotland. It is technically and operationally an improvement on our previous machine."
The Scotsman

High-fibre diet 'can cut cancer risk for women under 50'
A breakfast bowl of muesli, wholemeal sandwiches at lunch and fruit in the evening could halve a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. Researchers have found that younger women who eat a high-fibre diet appear to be protected against the disease - at least until the menopause. A study of 35,000 women over seven years found those with the highest fibre intake of 30 grams a day had a 50 per cent lower incidence of breast cancer than those eating 20 grams a day. But the effect was only seen in pre-menopausal women up to the age of about 50. In post-menopausal women, a high-fibre diet offered no protection.
The Independent

Tourists to experience more Roman splendour
Archaeologists discussing plans to save crumbling monuments on the Palatine Hill at the heart of Ancient Rome said that conservation work had yielded discoveries including a grotto possibly revered as the place where a she-wolf tended the city’s legendary founders, Romulus and Remus. Experts from Italy and around the world gathered at a congress in the capital to share the results of studies on the imperial residences, which in some cases are threatening to collapse.
The Times