British Library plans Second Life branch
One of academe's most venerable institutions may be taking the plunge into the virtual world. The British Library is considering setting up a presence on Second Life, the virtual world built by its...
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Hefce cuts penalty for dropouts
The pressure on academics to ensure that all their students complete the full course each year will be dramatically eased after a decision by funding chiefs to abolish the heavy penalties for...
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Sound of the universe
A former member of Irish punk-folk band The Pogues is composing a piece of music using the Jodrell Bank Observatory's Lovell radio telescope as an instrument. The signals picked up by the Manchester...
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Britannia rules
Politicians need to handle debates on Britishness with caution, since there is little sign of links between national identity and party politics, according to new research. Researchers Frank Bechofer...
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Mining lost vocabulary
Northumbria University Press is helping to keep the language of the mines alive with a new book, Pitmatic: The Talk of the North East Coalfield . The book, by local linguist and historian Bill...
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Suicide prevention
Ulster University researchers have called for a national database on suicides to discover why people take their own lives and monitor the effectiveness of measures to stop them. Tara Moore, course...
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Female quartet engineer big success at Edinburgh
Four women have made history at Edinburgh University through their appointment as professors in the School of Engineering and Electronics. Rebecca Barthelmie, Rebecca Cheung, Andrea Schaefer and Roya...
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Indian sorcerers find a degree of magic
An Indian university is taking a leaf out of Hogwarts' book and offering a masters degree in magic. The qualification at Visva-Bharati University in eastern India is being set up by Indian magician P...
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Japanese library is to be googled
A Japanese university has become the latest to have some of its library digitised by search engine Google. Keio University will be the first in Japan to join the project, which already involves 25...
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California boosts professorial pay
California's university system is pumping £35 million into boosting professorial pay. Recent pay rises at the University of California are intended to bring salaries into line with competing...
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Stormy weather ahead in the med
Global warming could trigger hurricanes in the Mediterranean, a team of Spanish and German academics has warned. Researchers from the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Toledo and the Max Planck...
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Bologna process to be global model?
Countries around the world are looking to a European shake-up of higher education as a model for reform of their own systems, a conference was told. Michael Gaebel of the European University...
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Papa's Cats get health and fitness mot
An animal behaviour expert nicknamed the "cat whispurrer" is being drafted in to help after a row over the fate of 47 cats roaming author Ernest Hemingway's former home. Terry Curtis of Florida...
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Why our feet are made for walking
Chimps walking a on a treadmill have provided a clue as to why humans evolved to walk upright. Researchers from the University of Arizona, University of California-Davis and Washington University in...
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Microsoft provides research fillip
Microsoft has unveiled more than £3 million of funding for research in universities. More than £1.8 million will go to six areas where it seeks research proposals including tools using mobile phones...