Today's news

Students accused of assaulting academics
Lecturers and other university staff face violence, intimidation and harassment at the hands of students, according to a survey published today. More than 1,000 cases were recorded over the past five years - but the lecturers' union Natfhe believes this is only a small part of the problem as 37 universities do not record incidents, however minor. Of the reported cases, some 178 were incidents of physical violence against staff, while 832 related to threatening or intimidating behaviour, including sexual harassment, stalking, and verbal and written threats.
The Guardian, The Times Higher Education Supplement (June 10)

Brendan Foster becomes chancellor at Leeds Met
The 10,000m Olympic bronze medallist Brendan Foster was today appointed chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University. The former middle and long-distance runner and BBC athletics commentator takes up his appointment in July, when he opens the university's graduation festival by awarding Dame Kelly Holmes an honorary doctorate. Foster indicated that he was very much in favour of the university's drive to create more partnerships with other institutions in the north.
The Guardian

Dundee can really go to town after research grant
The University of Dundee engineering department has been awarded the largest research grant in its history. The division of civil engineering is to lead a research programme that aims to explain how to measure sustainability. A four-year grant of almost £1.3 million has been awarded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to a team led by Professor Malcolm Horner.
The Scotsman

David Rockefeller gives university $100m
Philanthropist David Rockefeller is celebrating his 90th birthday by donating $100 million (£55 million) to the Rockefeller university founded by his grandfather. Rockefeller, whose birthday is on Sunday, is listed by Forbes magazine as one of the 100 wealthiest Americans, with an estimated $2.5 billion fortune.
The Guardian

Student turns dead animals into works of art
At Northumbria University a student has transformed dead animals into works of art, it emerged today. Ebony Andrews has created the work from a variety of carcasses - often roadkill she has picked up. The artist’s creations are likely to raise eyebrows, but the 22-year-old BA Fine Art student said her exhibition was an example of how “the public use animals as commodities”.
The Scotsman

Ibuprofen increases risk of heart attack by 24%, warn doctors
One of the most commonly used painkillers in Britain may put patients at an increased risk of heart attack, doctors warn today. Ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug found in millions of medicine cabinets, increased the risk by almost a quarter, according to a study. Researchers advised patients using the drug not to stop taking it but called for further investigation of their findings.
The Independent, The Times, The Evening Standard, The Financial Times, The Guardian, Nature

Discovery is hard cheese for killer mosquitoes
A fungus similar to cheese mould could become a valuable weapon in the fight against malaria, scientists report today. British research has revealed that a common fungus can reduce malarial transmission by 98 per cent in the laboratory, by killing the mosquitoes that pass the parasite on. The findings, from a team at the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College London suggest that spraying living quarters with the fungus, which is harmless to humans, could help to prevent infection with a disease that kills up to 2.7 million people a year.
The Times

Researchers cash in £115,000
A research team from Napier University has landed £115,000 from Scottish Enterprise's Proof of Concept fund to develop a tool which will make it easier and cheaper for companies to develop new computer programmes.
The Scotsman