Today's news

Scotland's universities 'must learn to exploit research'
The principal of one of Scotland's most prestigious universities has called on the country's higher education sector to become more "entrepreneurial" to raise extra money and compete with institutions south of the Border. The vice-chancellor of St Andrews University Brian Lang, said that the introduction of top-up tuition fees in England will leave universities with "substantially more funding" than those in Scotland. He said Scottish universities would have to become better at exploiting their research work to generate cash.
The Scotsman

University lecturer had speed and Ecstasy
A university lecturer has pleaded guilty to possessing Ecstasy and amphetamines after police found the drugs in a raid on her home. Catherine Westbrook faces the possibility of disciplinary action from her employers at Anglia Polytechnic University in Cambridge, although she claimed she had no knowledge of the drugs and said they belonged to someone else. Miss Westbrook, a leading authority on radiography, said her solicitor had advised her it was not worthwhile denying the charges.
The Daily Mail

Students turn over a new leaf
According to Baroness Greenfield, the traditional trappings of academia are becoming “obsolete and irrelevant” in a society that is rapidly being transformed by technology. In future, students will be more comfortable accessing the information they need from talking computers than they will be searching a library for a book, says Lady Greenfield, professor of pharmacology at Oxford University and director of the Royal Institution. She told delegates at a conference for college heads that the Government should begin a consultation with academics, IT experts and educationists to consider how the education system should respond to technological changes.
The Times, The Times Higher Education Supplement (June 17)

Law training curbs unpopular, survey shows
Radical proposals to scrap compulsory training for lawyers is strongly opposed by students, according to a survey that will be released this week. The controversial changes, put forward by the Law Society of England and Wales, would enable people to qualify as solicitors with no formal compulsory training, as at present. But the changes have been widely condemned for threatening professional standards and for allowing lawyers to qualify more quickly than plumbers.
The Times

Britain's fertility timebomb
Britain is facing an infertility crisis, with the number of couples who experience problems conceiving expected to double within the next ten years. A leading fertility expert warned yesterday that by 2015, one in three couples may need IVF treatment or similar fertility procedures. The low success rates of such treatments means soaring numbers will be left childless. Bill Ledger predicted a looming "infertility timebomb", with thousands of couples forced to go through physically and mentally draining treatment, at a cost of millions of pounds to the NHS each year.
The Independent, The Times, The Guardian

Research shows how sex is in the mind for women
Scientists have identified why physical touch is so important to men during sex and why women must be at ease with their partner to reach orgasm. Dutch researchers found more activity in the areas of the brain linked to the importance of physical stimuli during sexual stimulation in men than in women. Scans showed that parts of the brain linked to alertness, fear and emotional control were far less active when women had orgasms. This was not the case when women faked orgasms.
The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Times, The Scotsman

£21,112 handout provides green shoots of growth for woodlands
Edinburgh University has been awarded £21,112 for work being carried out in Loanhead Woods. The university plans to survey the area and prepare a ten-year management plan and a five-year recreation management plan. It will also remove litter, conduct safety inspections, build 400m of new footpaths and upgrade 3,100m of paths.
The Scotsman

Letter
Regarding the rise in top-up fees.
The Guardian