Today's news

McCartney school moves up a class
Sir Paul McCartney, the former Beatles songwriter, is set to see his old school in Liverpool, which he rescued from dereliction, transformed into an international university that draws close to a third of its students from abroad. Sir Paul's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, founded on the site of his old grammar school, is to apply to become a university following a surge in demand for courses from students who stand a one in twenty chance of being accepted.
The Financial Times

Foreign students wooed to fill work gap
Overseas students will be able to apply to live and work in Scotland for two years without the need for a work permit from next week. The plan is a key strand of the Executive's Fresh Talent Initiative to lure thousands of bright youngsters to Scotland in an attempt to reverse the population decline. From Wednesday, students who graduate with a Higher National Diploma, a degree, a mastersdegree or a doctorate from a Scottish college or university will be able to apply to stay and work in the country for two years after the end of their course without the need for a special permit.
The Scotsman, The Times Higher Education Supplement (June 17)

Bristol University archaeologists head to shipwreck
A team of Bristol University archaeologists is heading for Tortola in the British Virgin Islands this week to survey the shipwreck site of the HMS Nymph , a Royal Navy sloop that sank after a fire in 1783. The survey will identify and assess the extent of the ship’s remains and will ultimately aid future excavation of the site. The HMS Nymph was launched at Chatham Dockyard in May 1778 and served King George III’s Navy as a support vessel in both the East and West Indies.
The Scotsman

Ethnic minorities 'under-represented in science'
Black Caribbean and Bangladeshi populations are the most under-represented in science, according to a report published today by the Royal Society, the UK's premier science academy. This applies both to their education beyond GCSEs and to getting jobs in science, engineering and technology. But the report by Warwick University's Institute for Employment Research found that there were fewer white students following science courses than there should have been in relation to the size of the population.
The Guardian

Lukewarm rating from students for university
Edinburgh University ranks only third in Scotland, according to its students. A UK-wide survey of students found the capital's university dragged behind surprise frontrunner Strathclyde and St Andrews in a range of criteria, including employment prospects and course content. And Edinburgh ranked only 21st across the UK - below the University of Wales at Bangor and Queen's University Belfast.
The Scotsman , The Times Higher Education Supplement (June 17)

Doctor's order: an aspirin a day for all over-50s
Aspirin should be taken every day by all over-fifties to ward off heart attacks and strokes, a team of doctors claims today. Peter Elwood and colleagues at Cardiff University's College of Medicine want more widespread use based on evidence it could bring benefits to patients not covered by current guidelines. Studies also suggest a daily aspirin can lower the risk of Alzheimer's by up to 70 per cent, help prevent breast and colon cancer and extend the lives of men with prostate cancer.
The Daily Mail

Scientist warns of salmonella risk from imported eggs
Britons are at risk of food poisoning from cheap imported eggs despite the success of British producers in curbing the threat from salmonella, a conference was told yesterday. Tom Humphrey, a veterinary professor at Bristol University, warned that a hen vaccination programme that had dramatically cut the incidence of bacteria in British poultry could be undermined by lack of proper controls elsewhere in Europe.
The Guardian

Minor strokes herald more scares
Less than half the people who suffer minor strokes escape the next ten years without experiencing another scare or worse event, a study has revealed. Event-free survival was estimated to be just 48 per cent, and in many cases patients died. Researchers monitored 2,400 patients from 24 hospitals in the Netherlands who had suffered a transient ischaemic attack or minor ischaemic stroke.
The Evening Standard