Today's news

Dutch politician and former academic shot dead
Pim Fortuyn, the rightwing politician and former sociology professor gaining huge success in Holland on an anti-immigration platform, was assassinated last night. The flamboyant and openly homosexual 54-year-old died from six bullet wounds to the chest and neck after his killer opened fire at point-blank range outside a radio station in Hilversum.
(Daily Mail, Financial Times, Times, Guardian, Independent, Daily Mirror)

Women the paupers of academe
Further evidence of pay discrimination against women academics is revealed today as the Association of University Teachers prepares for its annual conference. Male lecturers and researchers are far more likely to enjoy discretionary salary points when they reach the top of the scale, according to figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
(The Guardian)

Scientists crack genetic code of mice to aid man
The mouse has become the latest living organism to have its genetic code unravelled, in a scientific breakthrough that promises to provide new insights into human diseases. Scientists yesterday announced the completion of 96 per cent of the mouse genome and are heralding the achievement as a milestone in the understanding of human genetics.
(Independent)

Tea 'cuts risk' after heart attack
Drinking tea can cut the risk of death after a heart attack, a study of 1,900 cases has found. Those who drank most tea were least likely to die during the three to four years after a heart attack. The link, according to Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, is likely to be in the natural antioxidants called flavonoids, found in tea.
(The Guardian, Daily Mirror, Independent, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail)

Good University Guide
A course-by-course assessment of where and what to study in the first instalment of a four-part guide to universities.
(The Times)

Refined food implicated in myopia, evolutionary scientists claim
A study by a team of evolutionary scientists led by Loren Cordain of Colorado State University suggests that a diet high in sugar and refined starches raises insulin levels and causes the eyeball to grow abnormally, particularly in genetically susceptible people.
(The Times)

Breast-fed babies 'healthier'
Babies breastfed for the first six months have fewer ear and lung infections than those who are switched to formula milk at four months, say UK scientists.
(Daily Telegraph, The Times, Daily Mail)

Mum's not the word at Cambridge
Many of Cambridge University's colleges are mistreating adult students with children, a new report concludes. A survey by the university's Family Society suggests that student parents are less likely to be admitted because they are perceived by tutors as "high risk" students who might not complete their degrees.
(The Guardian)

Study on mobiles and radiation 'diluted'
A long-awaited report into devices to protect against mobile phone radiation has been so diluted it will be of limited value to consumers when it is published this week, critics said yesterday. The study into the effectiveness of radiation shields, buttons and pads would not name individual products because of commercial sensitivities, the Department of Trade and Industry said.
(Daily Telegraph)

Computers of the UK unite
The first national e-science centre has opened in a converted church in Edinburgh. It is funded with £5.5 million from the Department of Trade and Industry and will form the hub of a network of eight regional centres, in which academics around the country will concentrate on tasks including genetic research, recreating the first moments of the universe and predicting climate change. Together the centres will pool extensive computing resources to provide scientists and then industry with access to a supercomputer network.
(Financial Times)

Scientist unafraid to speak out over Jenin
Amnesty International scientist on the ground Derrick Pounder, head of forensic medicine at Dundee University, was the first forensic scientist allowed into the Jenin refugee camp after the Israeli army attack. When he found clear evidence that non-combatants had been shot during fighting in the camp he said so on national radio. It wasn't the first time this British academic had put himself in the firing line of a major news event, but it was probably one of the most dangerous.
(The Guardian)