The Government's "independent" adviser on mass tranquiliser addiction has received research funding from a drug company which manufacturers two commonly prescribed tranquilisers.

Lakeland barn decorated by Kurt Schwitters to be recreated in forecourt of the Royal Academy

Few can have contributed so much to the development and maturity of academic dentistry as Neil Jenkins, the first Professor of Oral Physiology in the UK. His academic legacy is unsurpassed, if viewed in terms of the body of work from his own laboratories at Newcastle University, summed with that of the "Jenkins family" of former graduate students and colleagues.

THE WORLD of alternative energy has lost one of its leading exponents with the sudden death of Robert Hill. His expertise on solar energy and photovoltaic technologies was recognised world-wide.

THERE IS fierce competition these days as to which is the most happening city in the north of England.

Almost 100 universities and colleges responded to our Christmas card competition and entries were generally of so high a standard that it was difficult to produce a shortlist and even tougher to select winners. It took the judges - Wendy Berliner, Editor of Education+, and John (Word of Mouth) Izbicki - considerable time to reach their conclusion. They eventually came up with a shortlist of 13. Most of these had a well-defined connection to the institution they represented.

Nature probably intended Ernest Bettenson to be a civil servant but, as he himself put it, the Commissioners felt otherwise and, as he had vague academic ambitions, university administration was a fair compromise.

Labour wants to ban calculators for children under the age of eight, David Blunkett said yesterday.

This year promises to be a watershed in British educational history, since for the first time we are taking seriously the need to learn from other countries. Politicians refer remorselessly to our position in international educational league tables. Television has put the well educated, happy and high-achieving Pacific Rim children in the minds of teachers in every school staff room. Parents seem more and more uneasy with the quality of the education their children are receiving.

Student fairs are increasingly lively places as universities compete for undergraduates in a buyer's market. Lucy Hodges talks to those setting out a stall

Institute of Physics

Sexual freedom, rather than poverty, is largely to blame for rising levels of crime and disorder, according to a report today from the Institute of Economic Affairs.

English teenagers are beating the rest of Europe at science but in maths their performance is declining sharply, according to a study to be published next week. Experts say the difference proves teaching methods, not an anti-education culture, are to blame for pupils' poor performance in maths.

Sir: Which is less justifiable, the ritual slaughter of sheep for religious reasons (report, 29 April), the carcasses being eaten, or the slaughter of tens of thousands of cows for commercial reasons, the carcasses being incinerated?