Hefce criticised over research fund allocation
The Research Assessment Exercise has had its day and the Higher Education Funding Council for England should rethink how it allocates its research budget, say MPs. The House of Commons science and technology select committee said Hefce should have anticipated the improvements this year and blamed the higher education minister for leaving such funding decisions to "an unelected quango". It proposed a lighter touch regime, where top departments are exempted and newer departments are offered seedcorn funding to develop their research.
National eScience Centre opened in Edinburgh
A state-of-the-art centre bidding to develop a successor to the internet was being opened today by chancellor Gordon Brown. The National eScience Centre (NeSC) in Edinburgh is a collaboration between the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh and will spearhead the UK's work on major eScience initiatives.
UK scientists publish sophisticated brain 'atlas'
Scientists have developed a sophisticated brain "atlas" that could help doctors pinpoint the source of psychiatric disorders and dementia, it was disclosed today. Scientists at King's College London, Imperial College London and Oxford University developed the Dynamic Brain Atlas with government funding.