BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Doctor Who assistant is unveiled

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Doctor Who assistant is unveiled: "Little-known actress Karen Gillan has been unveiled as the next assistant in Doctor Who.

The 21-year-old will star alongside new Time Lord Matt Smith in the new series, to be broadcast next year.

Gillan has already appeared in the drama, having played a Soothsayer in The Fires Of Pompeii in the last run."

BBC NEWS | Health | 'Glass hold' reveals personality

BBC NEWS | Health | 'Glass hold' reveals personality: "The way you hold your glass can reveal much more than you might realise, a psychologist has warned.

Dr Glenn Wilson, a consultant psychologist, observed the body language of 500 drinkers and divided them into eight personality types.

These were the flirt, the gossip, fun lover, wallflower, the ice-queen, the playboy, Jack-the-lad and browbeater.

Dr Wilson, who carried out the work for the Walkabout bar chain, said glass hold 'reflected the person you are'."

BBC NEWS | Health | Cancer drug erases fingerprints

BBC NEWS | Health | Cancer drug erases fingerprints: "A commonly-used cancer drug can make patients' fingerprints disappear, potentially causing problems for foreign travel, a doctor warns.

One patient was held by US immigration officials for four hours before they allowed him to enter the country.

The case is highlighted in the journal Annals of Oncology.

The patient's doctor, Eng-Huat Tan, from Singapore, advised all travellers to the US being treated with the drug capecitabine to carry a doctor's note."

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Devon | Couple's 81st wedding anniversary

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Devon | Couple's 81st wedding anniversary: "Britain's longest living married couple have celebrated their 81st wedding anniversary.

Frank and Anita Milford, who live together in a nursing home in Plymouth, Devon, exchanged vows on 26 May, 1928.

Frank is 101 and Anita will be 101 next month. In February they will break the record to become the longest married couple in Britain."

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Man-made star to unlock cosmic secrets

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Man-made star to unlock cosmic secrets: "When the world's most powerful laser facility flicks the switch on its first full-scale experiments later this month, a tiny star will be born on Earth.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California aims to demonstrate the feasibility of nuclear fusion, the reaction at the heart of the Sun and a potentially abundant, clean energy source for the planet"

BBC NEWS | Health | 'People-person' brain area found

BBC NEWS | Health | 'People-person' brain area found: "Scientists say they have located the brain areas that may determine how sociable a person is.

Warm, sentimental people tend to have more brain tissue in the outer strip of the brain just above the eyes and in a structure deep in the brain's centre.

These are the same zones that allow us to enjoy chocolate and sex, the Cambridge University experts report in the European Journal of Neuroscience.

The work suggests that some people may get a similar buzz from being sociable.

It could also lead to new insights into psychiatric disorders where difficulties in social interaction are prominent, such as autism or schizophrenia."

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Owls replace pesticides in Israel

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Owls replace pesticides in Israel: "Owls and kestrels are being employed as agricultural pest controllers in the Middle East.

Many farmers are installing nest boxes to encourage the birds, which hunt the crop-damaging rodents.

In Israel, where there is a drive to reduce the use of toxic chemical pesticides, this has been turned into a government-funded national programme.

Scientists and conservation charities from Jordan and Palestine have joined the scheme."

BBC NEWS | Health | Too much cola zaps muscle power

BBC NEWS | Health | Too much cola zaps muscle power: "Excessive cola consumption can lead to anything from mild weakness to profound muscle paralysis, doctors are warning.

This is because the drink can cause blood potassium to drop dangerously low, they report in the International Journal of Clinical Practice."

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Scientists hail stunning fossil

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Scientists hail stunning fossil: "The beautifully preserved remains of a 47-million-year-old, lemur-like creature have been unveiled in the US.

The preservation is so good, it is possible to see the outline of its fur and even traces of its last meal.

The fossil, nicknamed Ida, is claimed to be a 'missing link' between today's higher primates - monkeys, apes and humans - and more distant relatives."

Labuat

Labuat

Wow! Beautiful! Very creative! Must see (and hear - it has music which is very good too!)

BBC NEWS | Technology | Pirated pop keeps stars popular

BBC NEWS | Technology | Pirated pop keeps stars popular: "File-sharing sites help make popular acts more popular, finds a study.

The research, by industry body PRS for Music, showed the most pirated pop songs tend to be those at the top of the music charts.

There was little evidence that file-sharing sites helped unsigned and new bands find an audience, it found.

It suggests file-sharing sites are becoming an alternative broadcast network comparable to radio stations as a way of hearing music."

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Earwigs 'sniff out' best babies

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Earwigs 'sniff out' best babies: "Earwig mothers sniff out their 'best' offspring and lavish them with care, according to new research.

The insects pick up odours from their clutch of 'nymphs' and adjust their maternal behaviour in response.

When they pick up a chemical signal from healthy, well-fed youngsters, they spend more time nursing them, at the expense of their hungrier babies."

BBC NEWS | Health | Women 'fight off disease better'

BBC NEWS | Health | Women 'fight off disease better': "Men really do have an excuse for supposedly being wimpy about coughs and colds - their immune systems are not as strong as women's, research suggests.

A Canadian study indicates that the female sex hormone oestrogen gives women's immune systems added bite at fighting off infection.

Oestrogen seems to counter an enzyme which blocks the inflammatory process."

BBC NEWS | Health | Vitamins 'undo exercise efforts'

BBC NEWS | Health | Vitamins 'undo exercise efforts': "Taking vitamins after exercise may undo some of the beneficial effects of the workout, research suggests.

Some advocate taking antioxidants like vitamin C and E to help protect the body from harmful chemical by-products it creates in breaking into a sweat.

But German scientists now believe these 'free radicals' may actually be good for us and even buffer against diabetes, PNAS reports.

And mopping them up with antioxidants may do more harm than good."

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Berkshire | 'Stoned' dog leads to drugs find

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Berkshire | 'Stoned' dog leads to drugs find: "A pensioner in Berkshire alerted police to a £50,000 cannabis factory next door after her pet dog seemed 'stoned'.

Valerie Bailey, 66, became suspicious four weeks ago when her West Highland Terrier Holly started to 'sleep until mid-morning'.

When police raided the home next door in Royal Avenue, Calcot, Reading, on Wednesday officers found 200 cannabis plants."

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | 'Anaconda' harnesses wave power

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | 'Anaconda' harnesses wave power: "A new wave energy device known as 'Anaconda' is the latest idea to harness the power of the seas.

Its inventors claim the key to its success lies in its simplicity: Anaconda is little more than a length of rubber tubing filled with water.

Waves in the water create bulges along the tubing that travel along its length gathering energy.

At the end of the tube, the surge of energy drives a turbine and generates electricity."

BBC NEWS | Health | Male 'contraceptive jab' closer

BBC NEWS | Health | Male 'contraceptive jab' closer: "A male contraceptive jab could be as effective at preventing pregnancies as the female pill or condoms, work shows.

The monthly testosterone injection works by temporarily blocking sperm production and could revolutionise birth control, experts believe.

In trials in China only one man in 100 fathered a child while on the injections, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reports.

Six months after stopping the jabs the men's sperm counts returned to normal."

BBC NEWS | Technology | YouTube helps man deliver baby

BBC NEWS | Technology | YouTube helps man deliver baby: "An engineer in Cornwall delivered his baby son after watching a instructional video on YouTube.

Marc Stephens watched the videos as a precaution when his wife Jo started to feel some discomfort.

Four hours later, his wife went into labour and started giving birth before an ambulance could arrive at their home in Redruth."

BBC NEWS | Health | Lithium in water 'curbs suicide'

BBC NEWS | Health | Lithium in water 'curbs suicide': "Drinking water which contains the element lithium may reduce the risk of suicide, a Japanese study suggests.

Researchers examined levels of lithium in drinking water and suicide rates in the prefecture of Oita, which has a population of more than one million.

The suicide rate was significantly lower in those areas with the highest levels of the element, they wrote in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

High doses of lithium are already used to treat serious mood disorders.

But the team from the universities of Oita and Hiroshima found that even relatively low levels appeared to have a positive impact of suicide rates.

Levels ranged from 0.7 to 59 micrograms per litre. The researchers speculated that while these levels were low, there may be a cumulative protective effect on the brain from years of drinking this tap water."