science wire

All-inclusive or socially exclusive?

A Spoonful of Sugar or a Bitter Blocker?
Hannah Newton, an historian of science with an interest in how previous generations coped with childhood illness, digs up some 17th century tips for making medicine taste better and finds evidence for common sense and compassion among the doctors of the day.

Plans for new childcare centre to be built on campus
Plans for new childcare centre to be built on campus The University is close to concluding an agreement with the Co-operative Childcare, part of Midcounties Co-operative, to secure the future of childcare on campus.

Blurting out answers in class can be good for learning
Blurting out answers in class can be good for learning Pupils who blurt out answers in class often learn more than their quieter classmates, according to new research. Test results from hundreds of schools across England show a surprising advantage for pupils with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); pupils who shout out answers attain better results than pupils who have similar symptoms but remain quiet and interrupt less.

Learning to ’talk things through in your head’ may help people with autism
Teaching children with autism to 'talk things through in their head' may help them to solve complex day-to-day tasks, which could increase the chances of independent, flexible living later in life, according to new research from Durham University, the University of Bristol and City University London.

English Language Teaching author receives honorary degree from Cambridge
Author Ray Murphy has been honoured for his unique contribution to English Language Teaching (ELT) with admission to an honorary Master of Arts (MA) degree by the University of Cambridge, parent institution of his publisher, Cambridge University Press.

Science career ’not for me’ say many 10 year olds
Children as young as ten already see a career in science as ‘not for me'. Despite the majority of children enjoying the subject at school and viewing scientists positively, fewer than 17 per cent are interested in pursuing a career in science, according to research from King's College London, published today.

Edinburgh discovered

Doctoral researchers reflect on their work
Doctoral researchers reflect on their work A new set of online films will showcase the work of Sussex doctoral students.

Olympic Torch Relay distance calculator earns Inspire mark for London 2012
A new web tool that enables pupils to calculate and store the distance from their home or school to locations that the Olympic Torch Relay will pass through has been granted an Inspire mark by the London 2012 Inspire programme.

Parents views sought on childhood obesity risk
PA 377/11 A new website has been launched to help raise awareness of work being done in the East Midlands region to tackle childhood obesity and to seek the views of parents and healthcare professionals.

Divinity appoints first Muslim professor
The University of Edinburgh's School of Divinity has appointed its first Muslim professor. Professor Mona Siddiqui, a regular on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day, is the new Professor of Islamic and Inter-religious studies at the University.

Research explores relaxed approach to anxious children
Research explores relaxed approach to anxious children Do anxious parents pass on their fears to their children?

Manchester to recruit more than 100 academic stars

Two for joy
An innovative dance performance with creative input from Professor Nicky Clayton, a expert on bird cognition, goes on tour this week.

New hope for children with special needs
Children with special educational needs are making remarkable progress in maths and english as well as their behaviour and relationships with other people, thanks to a new way of supporting them at school.

Teenagers who "want to be famous" face poorer job prospects in later life
Teenagers who "want to be famous" face poorer job prospects in later life Teenagers who have unclear career aspirations, or whose ambitions are mismatched with their educational expectations s

Testing the world’s English
English language testing, and the research that underpins it, has been elevated to a new level by the increasing global dominance of English, now used by an estimated 1.8 billion people worldwide.

For lust of knowing what should not be known
Clare Holtham (1948-2010) had a huge enthusiasm for learning. After a troubled childhood, which led to a spell of homelessness, she became an intrepid traveller and independent-minded student at Newnham College, Cambridge.

Teaching excellence rewarded

City’s former Poet Laureate launches new romantic collection
Acclaimed poet Roshan Doug is to launch his latest anthology at the University of Birmingham later this month.

Event offers an opportunity to interact with new autism technologies
This week teachers, parents, and children with autism – will have a unique opportunity to see how innovative interactive technologies can be used in enhancing autism education at a special event at Topcliffe Primary School in Castle Vale.

University honours Linda Norgrove

VC takes over as Chair of 1994 Group

Governments urged to rethink policy on young people’s aspirations
A new University of Glasgow study challenges widely-held assumptions about the aspirations of young people from deprived backgrounds.

Digital and social media at the heart of new Masters in Marketing

’Flexible Curriculum’ required to ensure pupils with autism achieve potential
A report published today (14 th September 2011) by the Autism Education Trust (AET) finds the current education system lacks flexibility in its approach to pupils on the autism spectrum.

Sunday Times ranks Sussex among top 20 universities

Imperial staff celebrate going through the promotions

Academic reveals i-opening results in online security survey
A national survey of young social network users in Britain has revealed that an alarming percentage openly provide their personal information on the internet. The ‘i-in-Online’ Children and Online Privacy Survey found that 60% of those polled had not read the privacy policies of the websites they used.