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Pupils, in deprived areas, are "filling their pockets" with food from school canteens, in desperation, due to poverty. These troubling findings have been gathered from a survey of 900 heads, teachers and school support staff of the National Education Union (NEU). Nearly nine out of ten (87%) say that poverty is having a significant impact on the learning of their pupils and 60% believe that the situation has worsened since 2015. Worryingly, of these a third (33%) think it has...

Scientists have developed a skin-like material that can change colour - like a chameleon. Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) discovered the novel product through a number of tests on an experimental material. Skin protects the body in a number of ways, including by rapidly stiffening in order to prevent injury. The new discovery revealed an elastic material that can tense like skin, with the added ability to change colour. In skin, a number of...

Donald Trump's proposed US-Mexico border wall could devastate surroundings wildlife, according to experts. Conservation biologists at The University of Texas at Austin found that a border wall could harm endangered plants and animals - and destroy the region's growing ecotourism industry. The scientists examined what would happen if more of Texas' roughly 1,200 miles of border with Mexico were to be walled off. Many miles of new barriers are set to be built on federal lands, most of which are...

The Home Office has been called on to help a five-year-old with epilepsy whose mother says cannabis oil is the only treatment that can ease his suffering. Karen Gray, 43, launched a petition for Cannabidiol (CBD) oil to be prescribed to her son Murray, who was diagnosed with Myoclonic Astatic Epilepsy last year. The mum-of-three said she feels she has hit a "brick wall" in her attempts to convince the NHS to provide the treatment for Murray - who can...

  Fishermen are kicking off because naughty dolphins keep wrecking their nets - and stealing their catch. New research has discovered fishing nets suffer six times more damage when dolphins are around. And the problem is only going to get worse for fishing fleets, as overfishing is forcing dolphins and boat captains closer together than ever before. University of Exeter researchers studied the impact of bottlenose dolphins on fisheries off northern Cyprus. They said Mediterranean overfishing had created a "vicious...

Police have launched another murder investigation in London after a young man was stabbed to death on Easter Sunday. The man, thought to be 20, suffered a fatal stab wound at around 1:10 on Sunday morning, after leaving a nearby bar. Met Police say they attended the scene, in posh Wandsworth, south west London, along with the London Ambulance Service. Despite the best efforts of officers and paramedics he was pronounced dead at the scene just before 2am. Formal identification...

Historic Oxford University has come under fire after a department invited alumni to a dinner - saying 'partners and wives' were welcome. The email was sent from the Department of Materials Alumni Association, asking if graduates would like to attend a dinner event at Oxford's St Edmund Hall. Graduate Dr Anna Ploszajski tweeted a screenshot of the email using #everydaysexism, which is popularly used to share accusations of sexism on a day-to-day basis. The award-winning materials scientist and engineer wrote:...

Britain's highest paid university vice-chancellor claimed 58 first-class train journeys and three first-class flights on expenses in just over a year, figures show. Controversial Dame Glynis Breakwell has already announced she is leaving her role following a row about her £471,000-a-year salary. It has now emerged the University of Bath vice-chancellor claimed 58 first-class train journeys and three first-class flights between August 2016 to the end of November 2017. This is contrary to the university’s own regulations on travel costs,...

Thousands of people could be in Cambridge today (sat) to witness the funeral of world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking.