From today's UK papers

Plea for more BSE checks on sheep
The screening of sheep for BSE should be increased fivefold to at least 100,000 animals a year to get a better picture of any possible threat to humans, government advisers said last night. (Guardian, Independent, Daily Telegraph)

Exam league tables must be scrapped
John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, says that controversial school exam league tables must be ditched if plans for heads to take over responsibility for running groups of schools are to succeed. (Independent)

Computers to replace teachers
Pupils will teach themselves in the school of the future, making teacher shortages a thing of the past, according to a "vision" outlined yesterday by the Department for Education and Skills. It said computers would transform classrooms by offering pupils "exciting new opportunities to personalise their learning". (Daily Telegraph, Financial Times)

Graduate demand holds up despite tough times
The country's biggest graduate recruiters are forecasting a modest 4 per cent drop in vacancies this financial year in spite of tough economic conditions, a survey shows today. (Financial Times)

Blackwell's embroiled in family row
An extraordinary family row has broken out at Blackwell Publishers, one of Britain's most valuable private companies, which may end up with the 76-year-old business being sold. The Oxford-based publisher of scientific, medical and ecological papers and journals has been owned by the Blackwell family since its foundation in 1926, protected by continuing family involvement and a complex capital structure. (Daily Telegraph)

Lecturer picked for safe Labour seat
Swansea tourism lecturer Huw Irranca-Davies was last night selected as the Labour candidate for the Ogmore byelection in South Wales. (Guardian)

Bradford University adapts to beat decline
Bradford University is merging with the local further education college and reinventing the civic society in a bid to survive, following a decline in applications caused by riots and racial tension in the city. (Independent)

NUT leader predicts teaching union merger
A merger of the main teachers' unions to create a single body representing classroom teachers is within sight, the leader of the largest teaching union predicted yesterday. MPs on the education select committee were surprised to hear Doug McAvoy, general secretary of the National Union Teachers, say he was confident that this year could see the first formal steps towards a merger of the three main (TUC-affiliated) unions representing teachers. (Guardian)

Fertility specialists charged
An embryologist and a hospital consultant are to face charges over the disappearance of frozen human eggs from fertility clinics, in what is believed the first case of its kind. Paul Fielding, the head embryologist at a hospital in Basingstoke, is to appear in court in connection with eight charges of false accounting and obtaining money by deception. He is also accused of assaulting four women. (Independent)

Electrical threat to unborn babies
Strong magnetic fields produced by some electrical appliances may increase the risk of miscarriage, according to an American study. Scientists in California claim to have found a strong link between miscarriage levels and exposure to alternating magnetic fields of the sort produced by appliances such as hairdryers, shavers and vacuum cleaners. (Guardian, Daily Telegraph)

'Stop-go' pedal could save lives
A single pedal that works as an accelerator and a brake is being tested by Volvo scientists. Developed by Sven Gustafsson, a Swedish inventor, claims the pedal considerably reduces stopping distances, which could lead to manual cars with two pedals and automatic cars with one. (Daily Telegraph)