A-level paper with same old questions
Calls for an independent investigation into examination boards were renewed yesterday when it emerged that A-level students have just sat an economics paper that was exactly the same as one given six years ago. Some candidates could have already answered questions in class when practising past papers as part of their revision programme. (Daily Telegraph)
Men find marriage is key to longevity
Married life triggers a mysterious reaction in the brain that makes people healthier and prolongs their lives, researchers have found. A 20-year study of 20,000 men carried out at the University of Warwick has found that men with wives live an average of three years longer than single men, and earn an extra £3,000 a year. (Times, Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Independent)
Unforthcoming academic results
A collaboration between Cambridge University and Masachusetts Institute of Technology, awarded £65 million by the government, has so far underwhelmed academia with its achievements. So where is the money going? (Guardian)
Origin of frog-killing virus discovered
A mystery virus that has ravaged the frog population of Britain may have entered the country inside imported goldfish, scientists said yesterday. Naturalists have reported hundreds of cases of dying frogs over the past year, suffering from a disease that causes their legs to drop off. (Independent, Guardian)
Company says cloned cow kidney works
Advanced Cell Technologies, the company that claimed to have produced the first cloned human embryo, says that it has created an organ - a cow kidney- from cloned stem cells that functions when transplanted into an animal, the first procedure of its kind. (Times)
Scientists treat infertility in male mice
Male sterility caused by missing sperm has been treated successfully through gene therapy in which DNA is injected into tissues to replace defective genes. A study at Kyoto University using male mice carrying a genetic defect that blocks sperm production has shown for the first time that gene therapy on testicular tissue can restore fertility. (Independent)