Washington, October 15 : A study has cast new light on why the drug methamphetamine is very addictive and damaging to the brain.

Scientists at the U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory used positron emission tomography (PET) to track tracer doses of methamphetamine in humans’ brains, and found that the addictive and long-lasting effects of the drug were partially due to its pharmacokinetics, the rate at which it enters and clears the brain, and its distribution.

The study involved 19 healthy, non-drug-abusing volunteers, and included a comparison with cocaine.

The study, published in the journal Neuroimage, also looked for differences by race.

Melbourne, Oct 14 : Educations chiefs have expressed concerns over the increasing "inappropriate sexual behaviour" in primary school students in Adelaide, Australia.

According to the SA Police figures obtained by The Advertiser, 42 sexual assault offences were reported in schools last financial year with the crimes including rape, attempted rape, unlawful sexual intercourse and indecent assault.

A total of 204 such offences have been reported in the past four years with 15 sexual assault offences during "core" school hours on Monday to Friday between 8.30am to
4pm and a total of 78 during those hours since 2004-05.

Jalandhar, Oct 13 : Educational institutions in Punjab are in the process of becoming truly global by providing students the option of studying abroad.

Over 1,000 students of Lovely Professional University in Jalandhar have come together to interact with the Canadian university representatives that include Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning and Thompson Rivers University.

The delegates highlight differences in teaching methodology adopted by the Canadian education system.

Washington, October 11 : A University of Wisconsin-Madison expert blames U. S. culture for derailing girls’ ability to excel in mathematics.

Janet Mertz, a professor of oncology, blasted the age-old opinion that females lack intrinsic aptitude needed for maths, insisting that there were many girls who are exceptionally talented.

She also said that American leadership in the mathematical sciences and related fields was at risk because students, both girls and boys, are veering from such a career trajectory.

It was so happening, she added, because of the low respect American culture places on maths.

London, Oct 9 : Secondary school pupils in Britain are abandoning books for the Internet, according to a new research.

Jonathan Douglas, the director of the National Literacy Trust, said that publishers must adapt titles to the demands of modern young readers who spend more time on the Internet if they are to succeed in persuading the next generation to read.

The typical eight-year-old reads nearly 16 books a year but, by the time they reach 15 or 16, this has dwindled to just over three books per year.

Stockholm  - On the eve of Thursday's announcement of the Nobel Prize for Literature, punters seemed to favour a winner from other countries than the United States.

At least according to two online betting sites.

The speculation mirrors that of Stockholm daily Dagens Nyheter that in a survey Wednesday concluded that 85 per cent of all literature laureates since 1995 have been Europeans.