Manchester pushes on for a 'Big 5'

Will Manchester make it? Oxford and Cambridge have always been there. Imperial and UCL have pushed on to make it a Big 4 of UK research universities in recent years. And now Manchester under John Gilbert (left) is bidding to make that a Big 5.

You can shake your head and say, "Too late". But Gilbert apparently doesn't know when he's beat. Manchester is now competing strongly with the others on research council grants. And the latest in his lengthening line of star acquisitions is John Sulston, winner of the medical Nobel, who is going to chair a new research institute focusing on ethical questions in science and technology.