Expert calls for fresh approach to HIV research
Professor Frances Gotch, investigative science, has joined others who are calling for a fresh approach to develop a safe and effective HIV vaccine. Comparing global HIV research efforts with the Human Genome Project, Professor Gotch points out that there isn't the same financial backing or coordination of funding because HIV is essentially a disease of the poor. "Right now, HIV-vaccine researchers are not singing from the same hymn sheet," she said.
Nature (27/06/03)

Ethical debate sparked by Siamese twins surgery
Plans to separate two conjoined, adult Iranian sisters has raised ethical questions as to whether high-risk surgery should be performed when a life is not at risk. Dr Richard Ashcroft, primary care and population health sciences, said there would be no controversy if the sisters were at risk of dying without the operation. "It's a genuine moral dilemma," he said. "And where you have a dilemma, people will make different decisions because there is no obvious answer what the right thing to do is."
Reuters Health (02/07/03)

Newly discovered light detection system sets the body's internal clock
Scientists have confirmed that a newly discovered light detection system in the eye helps set the body's internal clock. Researchers from the UK, Canada, the USA and Germany have shown that many of the body's responses to large changes in environmental light are controlled by the new brightness detector system. Professor Russell Foster, neuroscience and psychological medicine, and author on the study said: "After more than a decade of research, we can now be sure that the eye contains two very different light detecting systems. Rods and cones cells give us our sense of visual space. This new system provides information about the overall brightness of light within the environment."
Eureka Alert, Science Daily (16/06/03)

Is this maths problem impossible?
The Times (27/06/03) investigates whether there is any foundation in a dispute over the French annual Baccalaureat exam. The French Education Minister is trying to refute claims by pupils, parents and teachers that mathematics questions in the exam were impossibly complicated, sparking a national row and making front-page news on the other side of the channel. Asked to rate the difficultly of the maths questions, Dr Anjana Ahuja, who holds a PhD in space physics from Imperial, said: "It isn't easy, especially for a rusty old ex-scientist who remembers her maths classes with horror, but it's a clever question that requires both logic and a command of simple calculus. I just hope I haven't embarrassed myself. Phew!"

Imperial ethicist honoured
Professor Raanan Gillon, primary and population health sciences, has been honoured by the World Technology Network for his work in medical ethics. Winners included international household names and individual scientists across 30 categories as diverse as design, law and space. "The quality of work and depth of vision shown by the winning companies and individuals this year has been astounding. Despite a flat global economy, the speed of advancement in all the various disciplines we are celebrating today continues to surprise us," said Chairman of the World Technology Network, James P Clark.
M2 Presswire (30/06/03)

Top tier university
The latest Daily Telegraph (25/06/03) university league table, based on the rankings of five newspapers and a survey of graduate recruiters, placed Imperial third.