Round-the-world yachts leave city

31 July 2011 Last updated at 04:29 GMT The Geraldton Western Australia is one of 10 yachts aiming to win Ten identical yachts are set to sail from Southampton to begin the 40,000-mile Clipper round-the-world race.

The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious will wave off the fleet on Sunday afternoon.

More than 500 amateur sailors from 40 countries will take turns to sail the yachts across six continents.

Nearly half of those taking part had no sailing experience before beginning their training for the race, which takes nearly a year to complete.

Among them is Martin Woodcock, from Fleet, Hampshire, who said: "Clipper have set it up as a race, which is a key part of the whole thing.

"It's not a jolly around the world for a bunch of amateurs. There's no great prize at the end of it, but obviously there's the kudos.

"This kind of opportunity is a very rare thing for an amateur sailor."

'Lifelong dream'

Another taking part is Lucia Ainsworth, 45, originally from Brighouse, West Yorkshire, who has given up her job at Lloyds Banking Group in London.

She has joined the Gold Coast Australia yacht skippered by Rich Hewson for the first half of the race.

"To take part in this, the greatest amateur yacht race, will fulfil my lifelong dream to sail across oceans," she said.

Lucia Ainsworth wanted to inspire her young relatives by taking part

"I have resigned from my job and taken a year out not only to take part in the race but to travel in Australia and New Zealand.

"As well as fulfilling my own ambitions I wanted to inspire my young nephews and nieces."

The yachts will sail with HMS Illustrious at 13:30 BST in time for the start of the race, off the Royal Yacht Squadron Line in Cowes at 16:30 BST.

The founder and chairman of the Clipper Race is Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who was the first man to sail solo and non-stop around the world.

He spoke to the crews on the eve of the race and said: "Remember how powerful the sea is, treat it with huge respect at all times and that way you will come back safely.

"This first leg alone is more than 6,000 miles which is the equivalent to two years for an average sailor. So you're going to become very experienced sailors very quickly."

The competition is the world's longest yacht race, with participants taking almost a year to circumnavigate the globe.

The fleet of 10 identical 68ft (20m) ocean racing yachts and 10 skippers are supplied by the race organisers. Each yacht is sponsored by a city, region or country.

Participants, many of whom are sailing novices, come from all walks of life and undergo a four-stage training programme to prepare them for the gruelling journey.

The first leg will involve crews sailing from Europe to Brazil.

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The history house

30 July 2011 Last updated at 02:35 GMT By Stephen Stafford BBC News, Southampton The Tudor House Museum has been closed since 2002 With its Tudor banqueting hall, Georgian drawing room and Victorian kitchens, Southampton's Tudor House Museum has five centuries of life under one roof.

The Grade I listed building in Bugle Street is reopening on Saturday after nine years of restoration work.

The creaking wooden floor, so warped it induces a slight feeling of seasickness when walked on, is just one of the idiosyncrasies kept in the restoration process.

The latest audio-video technology has been installed in the 15th Century house to display its unique contents.

The house was originally constructed in the 1490s near Southampton's prosperous port by the builder of the Mary Rose, John Dawtry.

It was later saved from slum clearance by forward-thinking Victorian philanthropist William Spranger.

He bought the building, restored it and sold it to the council as a museum and just about every Southampton schoolchild has visited it since.

Continue reading the main story 1492 - Current house built by prominent citizen John Dawtry MP18th Century - Home of artist George Rogers1850 - Subdivided into workshops including tannery1890 - Bought by William Spranger1912 - Opened as Southampton's first municipal museum1940 - Survived German bombing of Southampton2002 - Closed for extensive structural repair work2011 - Reopens to publicMany of the original exhibits and curios are back on display - from a stuffed puppy to a World War I hot cross bun.

It is thought the house survived the World War II blitz because German pilots wanted to preserve nearby St Michael's church as a navigation aid.

However by the 1990s, time was taking its toll and the house was in a perilous condition.

Surveys showed it was slipping into neighbouring Blue Anchor Lane. But carrying out major work to a unique and precious relic was fraught with difficulty.

Project manager Dan Matthews said: "The main thing was the complexity - so many things had been done to it over 500 years."

The house structure was pinned to a 15-tonne concrete pillar and basic services, including a state-of-the-art fire sprinkler system, installed.

The work was funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of ?3.5m, as well as ?1.8m from Southampton City Council.

'Star attraction'

Mr Matthews said: "It's got so much character and eccentricity, but the flipside is everything from changing a fuse to fixing a window is never a simple task.

"There's not a right angle in the place, so even hanging a picture never looks straight.

"The house is now singing. It looks wonderful and visitors will be amazed. This has given it life for another 100 years."

The wooden structure of the house has been secured

Today there are touch screens to highlight graffiti from around 1570 uncovered on a wall, and 360-degree virtual displays showing how rooms would have looked in different eras.

Designer Mark Magidson, of Exhibition Plus, said: "It was like peeling an onion of different layers of the various parallel histories of the building,

"The building itself is the star attraction," he added.

Southampton City Council's Karen Wardley said the house would be a major tourist attraction for the city - particularly for visitors from cruise ships.

She said: "We want to help visitors learn the history of the building and relate it to this area of Southampton and the people who lived and worked here over the ages.

"Everything we have done is in keeping with the building and we haven't lost its character," she said.

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Ladies in the lab

29 July 2011 Last updated at 11:54 GMT By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter Nasa scientist Dr Holly Goodhead in James Bond film Moonraker was a classic stereotype of a female scientist Women are being put off working in and studying science by "subtle" messages in the media and society, academics say.

Although girls make up more than half GCSE science students - by the time they reach university science departments they are outnumbered by men by a factor of two to one.

And higher up the academic food chain, for every female science professor, there are nine male ones. So what is putting women off?

"It's not that people actually think there are no women in science it's more subtle than that," says Rachel Tibbell, development consultant at the UK Resource Centre for women in science, engineering and technology (UKRC)

UKRC research suggests women scientists are stereotyped either as frumpy, glasses-wearing cartoon geeks or uber-sexy, Bond-film glamour pusses - who shake their hair out of their specs once they have split the atom.

Gender stereotypes seem to permeate all the way down to children. Mrs Tibbell describes an Open University research project which asked in 2006 a group of children to draw a picture of a scientist. "Overwhelmingly, the children drew a man."

But where does this stereotyping come from? It starts at birth, says Mrs Tibbell.

"I have girl-boy twins and what I found is people buy a car for the boy and a doll for the girl. So already the child is getting a message about the sort of thing they should be doing," she said.

She also highlights the lack of female scientists in the media. Further UKRC research suggests scientific experts interviewed on television are five times more likely to be male than female.

But are these media images, or lack of them, putting off the female scientists of the future?

Professor Susan Greenfield is one of the few female scientists to have made it into the media

Dr Patricia Brekke, a 32-year-old conservation geneticist who has a fellowship at the Institute of Zoology, says: "I wanted to be a female David Attenborough but there was never a female presenter on television.

"But I would never have let this stop me - then I was a little bit obsessed," she said at a recent women in science event at London's South Bank sponsored by L'Oreal and the Zoological Society London (ZSL).

However, some of today's current scientists suggest that even if women do opt for an academic career in science or technology that they can face sexism once they are at university.

'Girls can't do maths'

Dr Kate Jones, a senior research fellow at ZSL, recalls a very macho culture and unrepeatable sexist comments at the university where she studied, although she says it has improved now.

And Professor Charlotte Watts, a mathematics professor and an expert in HIV prevention in the developing world, says: "I remember when I was an undergraduate at Oxford, one of my peers saying; 'I didn't know girls could do maths'."

Dr Jones said she experienced a very macho atmosphere where she studied

She also remembers going to conferences where she was the only woman: "I was a nobody, but everybody knew my name, because I was a woman. I got bought a lot of drinks."

But how much has society moved on the issue? There has been a greater increase in the number of girls studying science technology and engineering subjects at A-level than for boys.

But progress is slow. Sean McWhinnie, independent research consultant with Oxford Research and Policy, said it would be many years before women are represented in equal numbers in the UK's university science departments.

If present rates of increase continue, he predicts men and women will reach parity in 2021 for biosciences, in 2042 for chemistry, in 2060 for physics and in 2109 for civil engineering.

'Short skirts'

And Prof Watts suggests cultural changes are needed. She adds: "I was talking to this older woman and she said that in her day she had not been allowed to study science. Obviously that has changed.

"But she went on to say how much she admired the neuroscientist and former director of the Royal Society, Professor Susan Greenfield. And then her husband piped up that no one respected her because she wore short skirts."

Dr Brekke suggests that even if women are determined to find their place at an academic institution, problems can arise if they decide to have children.

"The problem is you have to keep up with the latest research and when it comes to getting a grant you are judged by how many papers you have produced."

Dr Jones says when women go on maternity leave they are left with big holes in their academic record for the period of time they take out.

"I am not sure there is any way of showing you have had a break," she adds.

Mother-of-two and 37-year-old evolutionary biologist Seirian Sumner said: "I never really had maternity leave because I had lots of on-going projects and students to see.

"Also because I am a field biologist I had to take my family to Panama for two months. If I had 'logged out', so to speak, I think it would have been even harder coming back."

But eminent plant biologist Professor Ottoline Leyser, author of 'Mothers in Science 64 Ways to Have it All', says there is no reason for women scientists to choose between their career and a family.

Women scientists often feel they must choose between children and careers

"I appeared at a conference in 1993 with my son in my stomach and my daughter on my hip. I was told that my career was in ruins because I had decided to have children."

She argues that working in academia with a family should be easier than other jobs because it can be so much more flexible.

"Even if you are out for a few years for small children it is only a very small proportion of your overall career," she said.

And perhaps most crucially, she adds: "Children have two parents - and men have been happily having careers in science for a very long time."

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Broad hat-trick revives England

By Sam Sheringham
BBC Sport at Trent Bridge

Second Test, Trent Bridge (day two):

England 221 & 24-1 v India 288 - England trail by 43 runs

Broad's place in the team was in doubt heading into this series Stuart Broad took a sensational hat-trick to fire England back into contention in the second Test against India at Trent Bridge.

The tourists were in total control of the match, leading by 46 on 267-4, when Broad dismissed Yuvraj Singh for 62 to break his partnership of 128 with centurion Rahul Dravid.

Then in his next over Broad had Mahendra Dhoni caught in the slips, Harbhajan Singh trapped leg before wicket and Praveen Kumar clean bowled in successive balls to send the crowd at his home ground into delirium.

Broad was the 12th Englishman to take a hat-trick in Test cricket and the first since Ryan Sidebottom in Hamilton in 2008.

Dravid was caught soon afterwards for 116, before Broad removed Ishant Sharma to wrap up the India innings for 288.

That wicket gave Broad Test-best figures of 6-46 and completed an astonishing 16-ball spell of five wickets for no runs.

It was a breathless period of play, and all the more remarkable for the fact that Broad was once again the instigator of England's comeback - the Nottinghamshire all-rounder having struck a rapid 64 to rescue England from 124-8 to 221 all out in their first innings on Friday.

Continue reading the main story Phil Tufnell,
Former England spinner and BBC summariser

Absolutely riveting day's cricket. This series is getting better and better, a great effort by Stuart Broad really dragged England back into the match. It looked like India would bat us out of the game but England will be thinking if they bat well and get a lead of 250-260 they will have a great chance. I can't wait to come back tomorrow

India's collapse left England 11 overs at the end of the day and they finished up 24-1, 43 runs behind, after Alastair Cook was caught off a leading edge.

Up until Broad's dramatic intervention the day had been entirely India's, with Dravid and VVS Laxman scoring 69 in the first hour - 56 of those runs coming in boundaries.

Laxman advanced untroubled to his 54th Test fifty before the return of Tim Bresnan from the Pavilion End brought about his downfall. One away swinger beat the bat, but the following ball caught the outside edge and was snaffled by a jubilant Matt Prior.

Sachin Tendulkar received a standing ovation as he set out once more in search of his 100th international century. But the Little Master's poor run of form continued as he was caught in the slips off Broad for 16 before Suresh Raina glided a catch straight to Eoin Morgan at point.

With the seamers bowling well, England were on top, and they should have reduced India to 144-5 when Yuvraj - on four - was dropped by Kevin Pietersen in the gully.

The error proved costly as Yuvraj and Dravid batted India well beyond England's total, with Dravid reaching three figures for the second successive Test and the 34th time overall.

The duo scored at almost four runs per over but just when they seemed to be taking the game away from England, the second new ball provided the catalyst for Broad to unleash an unforgettable spell.

Continue reading the main story Malcolm Ashton,
Test Match Special scorer Broad is the 12th Englishman to take a Test hat-trick and the 39th in Test historyRyan Sidebottom was the last Englishman to achieve the feat - against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2008Broad was the final victim of the last Test hat-trick - Peter Siddle v England in Brisbane in November 2010England are first side to take a Test hat-trick against India

It started when a ball angled across Yuvraj drew an edge and the catch was taken by Prior.

With the baying crowd roaring him to the crease, Broad produced a quicker ball that Dhoni slashed to second slip and a straight one that trapped Harbhajan on his crease, although replays revealed the ball took an inside edge on his pads.

The hat-trick ball was superb, moving in off the seam and slamming into Kumar's middle stump.

England's reply got off to an inauspicious start when Cook was removed cheaply, but Strauss and Ian Bell survived a testing period at the end.

Bell was forced to bat at number three after Jonathan Trott suffered a shoulder injury in the field, although a scan revealed no bone damage and he will be assessed again on Sunday morning.

Listen to Jonathan Agnew and Geoff Boycott's review of the day's play on the TMS podcast.

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Prosecutors defend Knox evidence

30 July 2011 Last updated at 18:22 GMT Knox is serving a 26-year sentence for Miss Kercher's murder Italian prosecutors have rejected claims that evidence used to convict Amanda Knox of the murder of UK student Meredith Kercher was unreliable.

Knox, 24, and her Italian ex-boyfriend Rafaelle Sollecito, 26, are appealing against their convictions for killing the Surrey student in Perugia in 2007.

On Monday, experts told the court the DNA evidence which helped convict the American could have been contaminated.

But the scientific police director has defended the original forensic work.

In a letter read out to the court, Piero Angeloni described the technology used as being world-class and said the officers were highly experienced.

"Never before" has there been such criticism of his agency, he said.

Patrizia Stefanoni, the police forensic scientist who originally found the DNA on the knife and Miss Kercher's torn bra clasp, has said she will fight the appeal trial experts' accusation that basic errors were made.

'Not reliable'

During proceedings in Perugia, prosecutor Manuela Comodi sought to undermine the independent experts' conclusions and show that the forensic evidence used to convict Knox could stand.

The experts - appointed by the court to review the evidence and procedures used to obtain it - maintain that the original investigation was marked by some glaring errors, the Associated Press reports.

Much of the debate centred on a kitchen knife the prosecutors believe to be the murder weapon.

In the first trial, prosecutors maintained that Knox's DNA was found on the knife's handle and Miss Kercher's DNA was found on the blade. They also said Sollecito's DNA was found on the clasp of Miss Kercher's bra.

But the appeals court heard that the collection of evidence fell below international standards.

Carla Vecchiotti, a forensic specialist from La Sapienza university, Rome, said it was impossible to say whether the British student's DNA was found on the knife.

"There is a complete genetic profile, but it's not reliable," she said.

"We don't know if Meredith's DNA was on it or not."

Ms Comodi insisted that the genetic profile found on the blade should not be thrown out.

Miss Kercher, a Leeds University student, was living in Italy as part of a year of study abroad when she died.

Knox is serving a 26-year sentence for Miss Kercher's murder while Sollecito, an Italian, was sentenced to 25 years.

Both deny any wrongdoing.

Rudy Guede, 21, was also convicted of Miss Kercher's murder in a separate trial and is serving a 16-year term.

The hearing was adjourned until September.

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Man dies in two-vehicle collision

31 July 2011 Last updated at 08:22 GMT A man has died after a collision in east Cornwall.

The emergency services were called to a crash involving two vehicles on the A390 near St Ive, between Callington and Liskeard, on Saturday.

The male driver and female passenger of a Mazda sports car had serious injuries and were airlifted to Derriford Hospital, where the man died.

Police said the incident happened at about 12:40 BST and the people in the other car were not seriously injured.

The A390 was closed for several hours while police investigated the cause of the collision.

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Olympic knitters

29 July 2011 Last updated at 09:59 GMT

Photos from around the world this week

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Flood families need support to rebuild

Photos on the theme of wind

A first glimpse inside the Olympic venue

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Norway mourns those killed in terror attacks

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Twin terror attacks in Norway

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