Hanging in the balance: Daredevil acrobat's spectacular tight rope mountain walk... with no harness or safety net

One slip and he would plummet 10,000ft to the ground below.

Yet Freddy Nock too his most hair-raising stunt nonchalantly in his stride.

These stunning images show 45-year-old Freddy Nock completing his latest feat - walking more than 5,200 feet down a mountain cable car wire - without a safety net or a harness in the Swiss mountains.

Fearless: 45-year-old high wire artist Freddy Nock walks on the rope of the the Corvatsch cable car in Switzerland wearing no safety harness. His only aid was an outsized pole to help him balance

Balancing act: Swiss acrobat Freddy Nock moves carefully as he walks along a cable car line more than 10,000 feet above the ground - without a harness or safety net

Nock, a hire wire artist extraordinaire who works for a circus, undertook this latest stunt near the Swiss mountain resort of St Moritz.

Using only a balancing stick, he walked down the cable of a funicular on Mount Corvatsch - which is 9, 908 feet above sea level.

Long way down: Nock's incredible feat was his second attempt. Bad weather forced him to abandon a first try

He shuffled along the cable for some 5,249 feet, starting from the mountain station - at an altitude of 10,836 feet - to the middle station, which is 8,865 feet above sea level.

Nock, who starting learning acrobatic skills at the age of four, successfully completed the walk on his second attempt, after bad weather forced him to stop earlier in the day.

He previously performed similar stunts Germany, staging a climb over the slopes of the country's highest mountain, and walking 900-metres over Lake Zurich.

Above the clouds: Nock completed a similar high wire walk in 2009, when he staged a climb over the slopes of Germany's highest mountain for charity

Daredevil: Nock walked down over a distance of some more than 5,200 feet

Can scientists REALLY make it rain (or are they a useless shower?)

At the height of the Vietnam War, soldiers who heard U.S. aircraft flying high over the Ho Chi Minh trail might have feared bombs were about to fall from the sky, or at least that reconnaissance pilots were taking pictures of the Viet Cong's supply lines.

In fact, they had very little to fear. The planes were just trying to make it rain - but they weren't very good at it.

The idea was simple: seed the heavy clouds with tiny particles of silver iodide whose electrical charge would pull together the cloud's water droplets. Once enough droplets had gathered together, their weight would make them fall from the sky as rain.

Splash hit: Hannah Harbottle is soaked as shoppers take cover from a downpour in Cheltenham in 2004

The resulting deluge would turn the Vietnamese supply lines into a quagmire and halt the communists in their tracks.

Operation Popeye started in 1966 and ran for seven years. Pilots flew 2,600 rain-seeding sorties, but it was a dismal failure. There was a little rain but not enough to halt the supply lines. And it might well have rained anyway, even without U.S. intervention.

Fast-forward four decades and you'll find the same idea, and the same controversial result, is back in play.

A Swiss company called Meteo Systems claims to have seeded more than 50 rainstorms over the Abu Dhabi desert last year.

Some scientists have rubbished the claims.

'The Meteo Systems claims are really nothing more than that - it is a simple example of a chance outcome,' says Dr Deon Terblanche, a weather modification expert at the World Meteorological Organisation.

Others say they might be true. Meteo Systems uses a technology that is new to this field: a network of towers that use electricity to electrically charge the air. The ionised air then seeds rain.

Professor Peter Wilder, of the Technical University of Munich, did not see the rain fall in the desert but he is keeping an open mind about this new idea.

'I am convinced that the ionisation technology has the potential to work,' he says.

Dr Terblanche is not. 'There is no scientific basis to this technology,' he argues.

So far, then, no one knows whether rain-seeding really does do what its supporters claim. Measuring the success of weather modification projects is like peering through a thick fog - and it always has been.

The American efforts in Vietnam were the culmination of a military project started by the mathematical genius behind the atomic bomb. John von Neumann had provided many of the essential calculations for designing the weapons that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

After the war, he turned his attention to making a weapon out of the weather. He gathered fellow scientists at Princeton University and formed a team that would investigate how to wage 'climatological warfare'.

The main idea was to create a drought that would ruin Soviet grain harvests or floods that would devastate cities.

Though significant amounts of money were poured into this secret programme, it never achieved reliable results. And as information began to leak, the public became angry.

Planes flying over South Dakota in a 1972 cloud-seeding experiment were even shot at by farmers. It didn't help the government's-cause when the South Dakota experiment was followed by a devastating flood.

The citizens of Rapid City sued the government after 238 people died when a year's worth of rain fell in the space of a few hours.

Residents in one Chinese city accused another city of stealing their rainfall

Britain has had its own Rapid Citytype disaster. On August 15, 1952, floods struck the town of Lynmouth, Devon, eventually killing 34 people and leaving more than 400 homeless. The RAF had been trying out some cloud-seeding in the region, but as with Rapid City, the Government didn't take responsibility. Lynmouth's rain, the Ministry of Defence said, was coming anyway.

Attempts to modify the weather are going on in around 40 countries now. China is the most gung-ho: the Beijing government employs around 50,000 people in various weather modification centres.

Most of these are charged with making rain fall on arid, unfarmable land. But when forecasters said there was a 50-50 chance of drizzle on the National Day Parade in October 2009, Chinese scientists were told to hold back the rain. They did - they let loose 18 aircraft and seeded clouds in the surrounding area with silver iodide crystals.

It seemed to work because the parade in Tiananmen Square took place under clear blue skies. Whether that is due to the scientists, or whether it would have happened anyway is still hotly contested.

Rain is not the only weather in scientists' sights. There are efforts to disperse fog - sometimes just heating the air seems to work for that. There are those who want to reduce the chance of a hailstorm damaging delicate crops or the structure of buildings. And then there are the truly ambitious projects that aim to untwist a tornado or halt a hurricane.

These projects actively harness the phenomenon that makes weather so unpredictable. Popularly known as the 'butterfly effect' because the flap of a butterfly's wing in Wyoming could disturb the atmosphere and trigger a chain of events that results in a storm in Southport, scientists know this exquisite sensitivity to small changes as 'chaos theory'.

When you are facing something such as Hurricane Katrina, chaos can work in your favour. The idea is that you don't need to create a storm to fight a storm. You just need a tiny little push of just the right sort. Chaos theory can then do the rest.

If you could just work out how to blow the air in the region of a hurricane, or cool it, or heat it, you could push the storm out to sea. The same thing might work with depressions too.

The kind of weather system that brings us a spate of terrible storms often forms way out over the Atlantic Ocean. Computer models suggest that if we were able to warm a specific region of the ocean where the depression is forming, we could keep our weather pleasant for the weekend.

Of course, there are big downsides to all of this. One is that the weather belongs to everyone, and some people are nervous about their neighbours hijacking their precious rain.

In 2004, a row broke out between the Chinese cities of Pingdingshan and Zhoukou in Henan province. The province was suffering a drought, and Pingdingshan meteorologists decided they could use the city's resources to do something about it. They commandeered anti-aircraft guns and rockets to bombard clouds with a fine spray of silver iodide.

Just a few hours later, around 4in of rain fell on the city. A little later in the day, when just an inch of rain fell over Zhoukou 75 miles to the east, Zhoukou officials accused the residents of Pingdingshan of stealing their rain.

Though this seems quaintly comical, it wouldn't if those neighbours were India and Pakistan. It is easy to imagine the row escalating into all-out war.

That is why the World Meteorological Association suggests that weather-modification experiments that take place near national borders be given extra thought before they go ahead.

Of all our attempts to modify the weather, only one has been shown to work to the satisfaction of scientists. It was invented thousands of years ago by the enterprising builders of Sri Lanka's royal palaces.

We adopted it only a few hundred years ago to protect our tallest buildings from the worst ravages of the British weather. A lightning conductor may not bring rain to the desert, but it might be the only weather-controlling tool we ever get.

Top bombing, Tom! Tom Daley and his Olympic partner pull off the world’s most difficult dive - an incredible 4.5 somersaults in less than 2 seconds

It is a feat of competition diving so difficult it was once thought impossible – but yesterday two British sportsmen pulled off the manoeuvre dubbed The Big Front.

Teenage star Tom Daley and his Olympic partner Pete Waterfield completed four-and-a-half somersaults in under two seconds – the blink of an eye it takes to hit the water from the 10-metre board. And what’s more, they did it synchronised in tandem.

Even to sports fans whose appreciation of diving is limited to comedian Peter Kay’s famous ‘top bombing’ advert, the precision timing and nerves of steel the somersaults demand are impressive.

Running jump: Tom Daley and Peter Waterfield need to get a good lift for their first somersault

Going: The pair are competing in the Mens 10m Synchro Final at the British Gas National Cup 2011

In just 1.93 seconds, 16-year-old Daley and Waterfield, 29, had to rotate their bodies at speeds of 60mph, while hurtling towards the water at 30mph.

It is therefore little wonder that no British diver had previously achieved the feat in competition. Now the pair believe the difficult dive will give them the edge at next year’s London Olympics. ‘It was scary,’ Daley admitted afterwards. ‘For some time I didn’t want to do it but to get on to the podium in London I knew I had to.

‘There were times in the past when I almost walked away from it. I haven’t been strong enough to incorporate the dives that can get the highest marks. But now I’m beginning to use them in competition.

‘The Big Front is technically and physically very hard. You need to get your timing right at the start because everything happens so fast. I feel very relieved to have done it.

In synch: The duo's split-second moves have to be in perfect tandem

The wow factor: Midway through their impressive dive

Nearly there: The last half-somersault as they prepare to enter the water

‘It’s gone better in training but that’s not in competition, it’s not in front of an audience and the nerves aren’t there.

‘The London Olympics have been my goal since 2005 when it won the Games bid. I was 11 and it seemed a big dream.’

Waterfield, Britain’s most experienced diver, admitted his younger partner has pushed him into new territory.

‘When you’re young like Tom, you’re fearless, you just want to get up there and hurl yourself off, but the older you get the more you realise the dangers,’ he said. ‘When a new dive comes along it wows everyone. It pushed me, but the main point is we pulled it off.’

And he admitted: ‘Just because I’m nearly twice his age doesn’t mean Tom can’t teach me things.’

After the historic dive at the British Gas National Cup, Daley’s proud father Tom said: ‘It’s a massive step by Tom. It’s only recently that he got over the psychological barrier you need to perform it.’

The pair took gold at yesterday’s event at the Southend Swimming and Diving Centre in Essex – and both will again attempt the Big Front in today’s individual dives.

But their sporting first is a significant step towards their Olympic goals, as neither reigning solo champion Matthew Mitcham, from Australia, nor the formidable Chinese synchronised diving team will attempt the Big Front at the 2012 Games. As Daley says: ‘We could be dangerous.’

The secret to a happy married life? Never forgive your partner when they misbehave

It is meant to be the cornerstone of any strong relationship.

But new research shows that forgiveness is more likely to tear a marriage apart than keep it together.

Those not so easily forgiven were less likely to repeat their behaviour, due to a loved one's criticism and the feelings of guilt and loneliness they experienced.

Doomed? Cheryl Cole initially forgave husband Ashley over his indiscretions, but they later split

The findings, published in the Journal of Family Psychology, showed partners who got away with being moody, abusive or sarcastic to their spouses were much more likely to do it again.

Those that were rebuked or shunned were more inclined to curb their bad habits.

The research, by psychologists at the University of Tennessee, calls into question the long-held belief that forgiving a partner's minor transgressions is one of the building blocks of a solid relationship.

Dr James McNulty, from the university's department of psychology, recruited 135 newly-wed couples and asked each partner to keep a daily diary for one week.

In it, they recorded every time their new husband or wife engaged in 'negative' behaviour. This ranged from arguing and snapping to nagging and being moody.

They also had to record whether they forgave the transgressions, or instead strongly criticised their partner for their behaviour.

Indiscretions: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton forgave her President husband

Finally, each participant had to document whether, having been forgiven, their spouse continued to behave in a similar fashion the next day.

The results showed that forgiveness nearly doubled the chance of a husband or wife doing the same again the next day.

Dr McNulty said: 'Spouses were almost twice as likely to report that their partners had behaved negatively on days after they had forgiven them than on days after they hadn't.

'These findings demonstrate that forgiveness may sometimes harm relationships.

'There is one plausible explanation - forgiveness allows relatively negative partners to continue their negative behaviours, ultimately harming the relationship.'

Beer goggles really DO make the opposite sex more desirable

Anyone who has woken up hungover after a heavy night's drinking doesn't need telling that 'beer goggles' really do make other people look more attractive.

Sobering evidence has come to light which confirms beauty is very much in the eye of the beer holder, rather than the beholder.

A survey in Australia has found that men and women's judgement about the opposite sex was quite different to how they felt when sober.

Night out: The new study says one in four people find others more attractive when under the influence of alcohol

The poll of more than 1,000 people aged 20-69 found a third of drinkers felt more attractive after sinking a few beers while one in four thought other people were better looking.

But just three percent of women thought men who had had a few drinks were attractive, while less than 10 per cent of men said females who had been drinking looked good.

These findings come on the back of a similar study by Bristol University, which involved male and female volunteers being randomly allocated either a drink of vodka and lime or a similar-tasting soft drink.

Half an hour later, they were asked to rate the attractiveness of 20 male and 20 female faces on a seven-point scale.

Those who had been drinking alcohol scored the faces around 10 per cent higher than those who had not.

Researchers found as little as a pint and a half of beer is enough to make everyone seem more desirable.

Men are worst affected, with their vision distorted or their 'goggles' lasting for as long as 24 hours after a heavy drinking session.

Experts believe that alcohol stimulates the striatum, an area of the brain that plays an important role in attraction.

But it's not just alcohol that is to blame.

In another study at Manchester University, researchers concluded that light levels in pubs and clubs, the beholder's eyesight and closeness in proximity to the object of their desire all played a part in the 'beer goggles' effect.

Women Who Smoke May Raise Breast Cancer Risk

Study Shows Link Between Smoking Before Having Children and Breast Cancer

Smoking early in life may raise a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer, according to research that adds new evidence on the link between cigarettes and breast cancer.

The study showed smoking before menopause, especially before having children, slightly increased the risk of breast cancer among a large group of women who participated in the Nurses Health Study.

Breast cancer risk was18% higher among those who began smoking before giving birth to their first child and 4% higher for those who started smoking after the first birth but before menopause.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women worldwide. In the U.S. lung cancer is the No. 1 cause of cancer deaths in women; breast cancer is the second most common cause.

Tobacco smoke contains several known cancer-causing substances. But previous studies on the link between cigarette smoking and breast cancer have provided inconsistent and sometimes controversial results.

Researchers say a major issue is that lifetime smoking exposure consists of many factors, including active and secondhand or passive smoke exposure, which can be difficult to measure accurately.

Breast Cancer Risk

In this study, researchers looked at the effects of personal smoking history as well as passive smoke exposure on breast cancer risk using data from 111,140 women who were followed from 1976 to 2006 for active smoking status and 36,017 women who provided information from 1982 to 2006 on secondhand smoke exposure.

Overall, 8,772 cases of breast cancer were reported during the follow-up period.

The results showed breast cancer risk was higher among the following groups:

* Heavy current and past smokers (25 or more cigarettes daily).
* Those who started to smoke before age 17.
* Women who had smoked for at least 20 years.
* Current and past smokers with a history of 20 or more pack-years (number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day multiplied by the number of years smoked).

“Heavy smokers who started smoking early in life, smoked for a long duration and smoked a high quantity were at the highest risk of breast cancer,” write researcher Fei Xue, MD, ScD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University, and colleagues in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

In contrast, never smoking and passive smoke exposure in childhood were not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk. Also, living with parents who smoked in the same house and secondhand smoke exposure while at work or at home were not linked to breast cancer risk, after adjusting for other potential risk factors.

Researchers say the findings support a modest, independent, and additive effect of active cigarette smoking on breast cancer risk, especially smoking before the first birth. Additional research in large groups of women is needed to further clarify this link.

Want to Sleep Better? Make Your Bed

Bedroom Comfort Affects Sleep, Survey Suggests

Spending too many nights tossing and turning? You may want to vacuum your bedroom, wash your sheets, and throw out that lumpy mattress before you reach for a sleeping pill.

Results from a survey commissioned by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) suggest that people sleep much better when their bedrooms are comfortable and clean.

The group’s first ever "bedroom poll" surveyed sound sleepers and poor sleepers about how the bedroom environment affected their ability to get a good night’s sleep.

“We’ve looked a lot at how medical and behavioral issues affect sleep, but we really hadn’t looked at the sleep environment in such depth,” NSF Chief Operating Officer David Cloud tells WebMD. “Frankly, we were surprised to see that senses like touch, feel, and smell were so important.”

Making Bed May Lead to Better Sleep

The survey included responses from 1,500 randomly selected adults in the U.S. between the ages of 25 and 55.

Less than half (42%) identified themselves as being "great sleepers" who got a good night’s sleep every night or almost every night.

Among the other findings:

* Seven out of 10 people said they made their bed every day or almost every day. The bed-makers were 19% more likely to report getting a good night’s sleep on most days.
* Nine out of 10 rated having a comfortable mattress and comfortable pillows as important for getting a good night’s sleep, while slightly less rated comfortable sheets and bedding as important.
* Between two-thirds and three-fourths of respondents rated a cool room temperature; fresh air; and a dark, quiet, and clean room as important for a good night’s sleep.
* Six out of 10 said they changed their sheets weekly or more often and roughly 3 out of 4 people said they got a more comfortable night’s sleep when their sheets had a fresh scent.

“People reported sleeping longer hours and feeling better about going to bed when their bed was made, their sheets were fresh, and their bedroom was comfortable,” Cloud says.

Sleep Environment Often Ignored

The survey responses come as no surprise to sleep psychologist Shelby Harris, PsyD, who directs the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at Montefiore Sleep-Wake Disorder Center in New York.

She tells WebMD that the sleep environment is an important, but largely ignored, component of a good night’s sleep.

While fluffed pillows and scented sheets are not likely to solve serious sleep problems, changing the bedroom environment to make it more comfortable can help occasional poor sleepers rest easier, Harris says.

She also recommends reserving the bed for just two things: sleep and sex.

“A lot of people watch TV in bed or pay their bills or even do their taxes, and then wonder why their minds continue to race when they want to go to sleep,” she says. “We encourage people to make their bedroom a sanctuary for sleep.”

Harris says people tend to wrongly think sleep is something they can turn on and off like a light switch.

“I encourage my patients to think of it more like a dimmer,” she says. “An hour or so before bed you should be psychologically turning down the mind and body to relax and prepare for sleep.”

She recommends:

* Turning down lights about an hour before bed to signal to the body that it’s time to relax.
* Unplug by staying away from the computer, iPad, and smart phone in the hour before you go to bed. In addition to being stimulating, the blue light emitted by these devices seems to trick the body into thinking its daytime.
* Eating meals at least three hours before bedtime and limiting liquids during the hours before sleep. Shortly before bedtime, though, a small snack that includes protein and carbohydrate can be beneficial, Harris says.

How a bad taste in music really CAN ruin a relationship

Ever wondered why a relationship may have ended on the wrong note?

The answer could be quite simple: it's because of your taste in music.

According to a new study music actually predicts sexual attraction. The most recent issue of Psychology of Music takes a close look at the connection between identity, music and what makes people 'click'.

Rock 'n' roll: If you like the blues you're more likely to be liberal but if you're into heavy metal you're rebellious with strong social awareness

This had led the LA Weekly blog to explore what it is about why we like, what we like, and perhaps more importantly, how this can make or break a relationship.

During adolescence, music becomes a symbol of your identity to help you belong.

Research duo North and Hargraves say that music functions as a 'badge' which people use to not only judge others but at the same time, to express their own ideas.

For example the child who wants to appear rebellious picks music that seems like it's made by people who rebel.

This symbol of identity also helps you strike a balance between belonging but also being original.

Classic: Guys are found to love girls who are into classical music but the same cannot be said for the reverse

You do this by liking a genre that your friends like, but to try and stand out while not becoming a total outcast, you find a performer within that genre which no-one else knows about.

Eventually however, you get into music that reflects your values.

Researchers believe that rock is associated with social awareness and rebelliousness while pop is connected to values about gender roles and conformity.

Scholars Rentfrow and Gosling discovered that people who like blues, jazz, classical, and folk are liberal and more open to experiences.

The blog also points to a study which found that a woman's devotion to country music diminishes her attractiveness to a potential male mate and a man's interest in country music make him less attractive to women.

But devotion to classical music and heavy metal rock has a different effect depending on if you're a man or a woman.

The study in the Communication Research journal says: 'A date's devotion to country music was found to diminish attraction in respondents of both genders.

'In contrast, devotion to classical music and to heavy metal rock proved to be gender specific.

'Fascination with heavy metal rock greatly enhanced the appeal of men, but it proved detrimental to that of women.

'Adoration of classical music produced the reverse consequences.

'It tended to facilitate the appeal of women, but to diminish that of men.

It also found that men were more strongly attracted to women with whom they shared musical tastes.

But for women, this had only a 'negligible effect' on their attraction to men.

Scientists identify how to spot a future criminal at the age of THREE

It's worrying news for any parent who's struggled with a headstrong young child.

But scientists claim that children who have low levels of self-control at three are more likely to have health and money problems and a criminal record by the age of 32, regardless of background and IQ.

Researchers from Britain, the U.S. and New Zealand analysed data from two large studies in which children completed a range of physical tests and interviews to assess genetic and environmental factors that can shape their lives.

Doomed? Children who have low levels of self-control at three are more likely to have health problems and a criminal record by the age of 32 (posed by models)

They found that children with low self-control were more likely to have health problems in later life including high blood pressure, being overweight, breathing problems and sexually transmitted infections.

They were also more likely to be dependent on substances such as tobacco, alcohol and drugs, more likely to be single parents, have difficulty managing money and have criminal records.

'Mastering self-control and managing impulses are some of the earliest demands that society places on children,' said lead researcher Dr Terrie Moffitt, of King's College London and Duke University in the U.S.

'Our study shows, for the first time, that willpower as a child really does influence your chances of a healthy and wealthy adulthood.'

The researchers firstly looked at data from around 1,000 children born in New Zealand between April 1972 and March 1973.

The participants' self-control was assessed by teachers, parents, observers and the children themselves and included things like having low frustration tolerance, lacking persistence in reaching goals, being over-active and acting before thinking.

Dr Moffitt's team then found that when the participants reached their early 30s, this impulsivity and relative inability to think about the long-term gave them more problems with finances, including savings, owning a home and credit card debt.

The children with lower self-control scores also scored highest for things like sexually transmitted diseases, weight problems, having high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

To corroborate the findings, the researchers ran the same analysis on data from 500 pairs of fraternal twins in Britain.

They found that the sibling with lower self-control scores at age five was more likely to start smoking, do badly at school and engage in anti-social behaviour at age 12.

Dr Avshalom Capsi, who worked with Dr Moffitt on the study, said: 'This shows that self-control is important by itself, apart from all other factors that siblings share, such as their parents and home life.'

The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

Number of under-30s with liver disease soars 50% in a decade as doctors warn figures are tip of the iceberg

The number of young drinkers admitted to hospital with liver problems has risen by more than 50 per cent over the last 10 years, NHS figures show.

In 2009/2010 351 under-30s were treated for the alcohol-related disease - up from 230 in 2000/01.

Doctors have warned the condition, once only found in older adults, is now being diagnosed in teenagers.

Doctors warn young women are particularly at risk from heavy drinking as their bodies can not break down alcohol as readily as men

Dr Jonathan Mitchell, a consultant hepatologist from Plymouth, warned that the latest statistics were a 'gross underestimate.'

He told BBC Newsbeat: 'I've seen people come in who are bright yellow or jaundiced and bleeding from their stomachs.

'Many will turn round and say they had no idea they were drinking to that extent because your liver just doesn't give you warning.'

Professor Roger Williams told the Daily Mail that young women are at particular risk from heavy drinking as their bodies can only safely consume half the amount of alcohol that men can.

He said: 'Every day in my clinic, I see the terrible effects of drink on the young. Only recently we had a case of a 22-year-old who died of alcohol-related hepatitis.'

Heavy drinking can inflame the liver, causing jaundice, and leading to comas and even death.

Long-term, excessive drinking can also cause cirrhosis, in which the normal liver tissue is destroyed and replaced by scar tissue.

Dirt cheap alcohol has been blamed for the rise of drinking-related deaths in Britain, with alcohol 75 per cent cheaper now in real terms than in 1980.

Experts have warned the Government's new minimum alcohol price will have 'no impact' as lager can still be sold for 38p per can, while wine can go for £2 a bottle.

Professor Ian Gilmore, chairman of the UK Health Alliance, said: ‘To bring in a measure that we know in practice will have no effect at all on the health of this nation I think is disappointing.

‘It’s a step in the right direction, but I have to say it’s an extremely small step. It’ll have no impact whatsoever on the vast majority of cheap drinks sold, for example, in supermarkets.’

Professor Roger Williams said: 'The fact that a can of Coca-Cola is often significantly more expensive than a can of lager says something of the warped values of today’s society.'

Why women who are ogled at work do not perform as well in the office

Bosses might want to keep an eye on the flirtatious glances of their employees, as a new study reveals women who are leered at at work perform less well in the office.

Scientists discovered that being the subject of a man's admiring gaze is distracting and and unsettling for women because it either puts them off or makes them feel flattered.

But the research found that despite this negative effect, women still interact more with men who look at them this way.

A study found that women taking a maths test experienced a drop in performance if the male researcher asking the questions occasionally stared at their chest

The study found that women taking a maths test experienced a drop in performance if the male researcher asking the questions occasionally stared at their chest.

Psychologists believe the lower scores could be due to women becoming anxious about sexist stereotypes.

Meanwhile their increased interaction with lecherous men may be due to 'trying to boost their sense of belonging' in a male environment.

For the study, research assistants were taught to take a quick up-and-down look at a person's body and then train their gaze at the other person's chest for a consistent period of a few seconds during conversations.

The research assistants were then paired off with a selection of male and female volunteers.

The volunteers were told the study was about teamwork. After this briefing, each volunteer was assigned to an opposite-sex partner - actually a trained research assistant posing as another volunteer.

The research assistants then gave the real volunteers a five-question interview, ostensibly as part of the teamwork exercise.

In some cases, the assistant started the interview by gazing from the volunteer's head to waist and back again, and then stared at the volunteer's chest for a few seconds between some questions.

The volunteers then had 10 minutes to complete 12 math problems.

The results revealed men's scores were not affected by whether or not they got an objectifying glance from a woman.

But women whose male partners objectified them scored lower than those whose partners behaved more professionally.

The non-objectified women got an average of six out of 12 questions correct, while women who were ogled scored an average of just under five.

Dr Sarah Gervais, the psychologist who led the study at the University of Nebraska, USA, said the lower maths scores were likely caused by a phenomenon called 'stereotype threat'.

Studies have shown that when you remind people of a stereotype about their group, such as 'girls are bad at math', their performance drops because of anxiety over the stereotype.

The women who got the objectifying look were aware of it on some level, as they reported that their partner was more preoccupied with their looks than the women who weren't ogled.

Despite this drop in performance, women were more motivated to interact with men who ogled them.

Dr Gervais said: 'It creates this vicious cycle for women in which they're under-performing in maths or at work, but they're continuing to want to interact with the person who's making them underperform in the first place.'

Dr Gervais said this seemingly self-defeating desire could be because they want a chance to show men they're not a sex object.

Gervais said they also may have felt flattered or may be trying to fit in.

Alternatively, they might have seen the flirtatious look as a sign the man was attracted and so returned that attraction.

She said: 'People that are being stereotyped become very, very concerned about their social connections and whether they belong.'

Further interaction may reduce that anxiety, she said.

Dr Gervais speculated as to whether licentious glances could now become as taboo as bottom-slaps under sexual harassment law.

She said: 'When it comes to something subtle like this, it's very difficult to combat.

'It's almost expected that men are going to do this to women and that really it's not that harmful.'

But if research shows such ogling consistently interferes with work performance, it's time to take the issue more seriously, Dr Gervais said.

She added: 'Even though it is just a look, it has meaningful consequences for women.'

The study is published in the February issue of the journal Psychology of Women Quarterly.

Whipping racehorses WON'T make them run faster, say scientists

It's a vexed question in the racing world – whether or not it’s acceptable to whip a horse to get that last burst of energy out of the animal as it nears the finishing line.

Now science has come to aid of those worried about the welfare of racehorses.

Whipping them does not make them run any quicker, according to research.

Whipping ploy: Pop Rock (left) couldn't beat Japanese rival Delta Blues (right) in the 2006 Melbourne Cup despite jockey Damien Oliver's attempts to whip him to the front

How a horse ran in the first part of a race, when it wasn’t being whipped, was the most critical factor in racing success.

The Australian research meant that ‘horses are being whipped in the final stages of a race, in the face of muscle fatigue, for no benefit’, Sydney University Professor Dr David Evans said.

The results should help end the debate over whether there was a place for whipping, added fellow researcher Dr Bidda Jones, chief scientist of RSPCA Australia. ‘This study has found jockeys use whips to try to make their slowing horse recover speed in the closing stages of a race in the hope they will get a place.

‘That’s not surprising. What is surprising is that whipping doesn’t make any difference.’

Whip happy: Riders face suspension if they are caught whipping a horse too hard

Study co-author and animal behavioural expert Professor Paul McGreevy said racehorses were bred and conditioned to give their best and, combined with a skilled rider, that was ‘all you need’.

‘We have evidence here that great horsemanship does not involve flogging tired horses,’ he said.

Sydney University’s Dean of Veterinary Science, Professor Rosanne Taylor, said the study was an example of science challenging traditional thinking.

‘In this instance, the wellbeing of Australian racehorses is looking brighter, because we better understand that horses give their

best when they are not whipped, before the 400-metre mark, positioning themselves for a win or place.’

In Britain, whip use has been debated for years. Many jockeys are in favour of the ‘persuader’ being banned.

The British Horseracing Authority enforces strict rules on whip use by jockeys.

Riders face being suspended for several days or even weeks for any infringement of the laws.

Rules state that the whip must not cause injury to the horse, must not be brought down from higher than the jockey’s shoulder and the horse must be given time to respond to one smack before being given another.

The animal should only be hit on the quarters or down the shoulder.

Horses may be subject to an inspection by a vet and they will report their findings to the stewards.

Andrew Harding, boss of the Australian Racing Board, which assisted the study, is reserving its opinion until its experts have to time consider the findings.

£3bn a year! Hedge fund boss's astonishing pay (that's £8.5m a day or £100 for EVERY second)

Biggest payday in history: John Paulson earned £3bn last year - 125,000 times the average British wage of around £25,000

A hedge fund manager is celebrating possibly the biggest payday in history – after earning more than £3billion in a year.

John Paulson, 54, made the astonishing pile of cash in 2010 by investing in commodities such as gold and oil, and in developing economies rather than Europe and America.

The payout is the equivalent of £350,000 an hour or £100 a second.

Mr Paulson’s clients are delighted at the success of his fund – but the billionaire has his enemies.

The American came under fire after it emerged he had amassed £2.5billion in 2007 by successfully predicting the credit crunch, and making huge financial bets on it happening.

Criticism grew when it last year emerged that Mr Paulson – nicknamed ‘the undertaker’ – had helped Goldman Sachs design investments in mortgages for the low-paid that he personally believed were doomed to lose money.

Supporters counter that Mr Paulson simply spots opportunities and makes the most of them.

Certainly his firm, Paulson & Co, delivered huge profits last year. Its £20billion investment portfolio reported growth of more than 10 per cent, earning him personally a ‘performance fee’ of more than £600million.

But he also has huge sums of his own money invested in the fund, and his personal stake grew by another £2.5billion, giving him his total earnings for the year of £3.1billion, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

In practice, Mr Paulson is likely to have only a small percentage of his earnings paid into his bank account, with most being rolled back into his investment fund in the hope of earning even more.

The married father of two already owns a £15million mansion in New York and has one of the finest homes in the costly Hamptons oceanside resort.

He is, however, said to take the subway and bus to work and regularly eats lunch at his desk.

Mr Paulson, whose total fortune is around £15billion, realised in 2005 that the property boom was unsustainable and searched for a way to profit from the coming slump. He bought huge volumes of insurance which would pay out if householders defaulted on mortgages.

Mr Paulson grew up in New York’s working-class borough of Queens. He launched himself in business at the age of six by splitting up packets of sweets and selling them individually at a profit.

He is said to have lived a ‘playboy lifestyle’ until his 40s when he decided to look for a ‘cheerful wife’ and realised the ideal candidate was his PA, Jenny.

Why touching a chap's arm is the best way to his heart as the art of physical contact is explained

Ladies, the secret of flirting isn’t fluttering your eyelashes, flicking your hair or laughing at his jokes.

Psychologists have shown the quickest way for a woman to gain a man’s interest is by gently touching his arm.

Researchers recruited a 20-year-old woman, rated ‘averagely attractive’ by a panel of 18 men, to approach 64 young, single males chosen at random in a bar.

Key contact: Researchers found women could attract a man's interest by touching his arm

She asked each of them to help her get a key into a key ring.

During half the encounters, the woman then touched the man for one or two seconds on his forearm before thanking him and returning to her table.

Observers found a third of the men who had been touched struck up a conversation with the woman, but that only 16 per cent tried to talk to her if they had no physical contact.

Referring to the power of touch, Dr Nicolas Gueguen from the University of South Brittany, who led study, said: ‘Numerous researchers have found that such brief non-verbal contact significantly increases compliance.’

It works the other way too. A previous study by Dr Gueguen found that women were more likely to dance with men if they were touched lightly on the arm beforehand.

Women are spending more on their looks than health to the tune of £108 a year

Beauty obsession: British women are more concerned with their appearance than their health, a survey found

British women spend more money on their looks than they do on their health, a study revealed yesterday.

The typical woman forks out an average of £336 a year on hair products, make-up and fake tan in a bid to look young, but just £228 on vitamins and gym membership.

And while three quarters enjoy spending cash on looking their best, just 41 per cent like heading to the shops for health supplements and nutritional food.

The statistics emerged in a study of women aged between 18 and 65 who were quizzed on their spending habits and attitudes when faced with choosing between image or health.

Yesterday, a spokesman for healthcare provider Benenden Healthcare Society, which commissioned the report, said: ‘It would be wrong to say that these results come as a surprise, as so many of us are guilty of taking shortcuts to ensure we look good – often at the expense of our health.

‘There’s a real danger that British women are becoming too focused on what they look like and forgetting to look after their inner health.

‘They become obsessed with the latest beauty trends and maintaining a perfect look, but in the end it’s just a mirage and they’re not caring enough for what’s going on inside their bodies.

‘Women can be slim and look good, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re healthy. Having a balanced lifestyle should be a priority to everyone.’

The study of 3,000 women found four in ten were more worried about their appearance than their health. And six in ten would prefer to live life to the full and ‘embrace life’s excesses’ rather than worry about ‘being squeaky clean’.

Low priority: Women admitted spending more on cosmetic products than exercise and healthy eating

The extreme lengths women have gone to in order to keep trim at the expense of their health were also exposed.

Nearly 19 per cent admitted to crash-dieting and one in 20 have resorted to laxatives to lose weight.

A worrying 3 per cent admitted to taking up smoking to shed a few pounds and 14 per cent have turned to diet pills.

Four per cent said they ended up suffering from an eating disorder to look their best for a night out.

But eight in ten would be encouraged to continue their bad habits if they received a compliment, and one in five would ‘do anything’ to get into a size eight pair of jeans.

The ultimate flash mob: Mums stage simultaneous breast-feeding protest after woman is kicked out of shopping centre

Dozens of mothers organised a ‘nurse-in’ protest, simultaneously breast-feeding at a shopping mall in Montreal this week in reaction to one of their number being earlier ejected from another Mall.

The Canadian mothers are up in arms after a woman was asked to leave a shopping centre where she was breast-feeding her child. With the help of social networking sites like Facebook and microblogging sites like Twitter, mass protest was organised.

About a hundred mothers attracted a curious crowd as they sought retribution for a clothes store that had thrown out 36-year-old Shannon Smith, a mother of three, for breast-feeding earlier this month.

Protest: Mothers participate in a demonstration in front of a clothing store in a shopping mall in Montreal, Canada. A mother had been thrown out of a shop earlier in the month for breast feeding her child

While on a shopping trip on January 5, Mrs Smith’s youngest child began to cry and she moved to a semi-secluded children’s corner and nursed the baby under a blanket.

However Mrs Smith was ordered to stop by an employee of the store, called Orchestra, leaving her surprised and upset.

She was so angry, the following day she created a blog, called breastfortheweary.com.

Around 60 mothers attended the 'nurse-in' in the shopping mall to express their right to breast feed in public

Breast for the Weary: Mrs Smith set up this blog to vent her ire, and it received a massive reaction

'I'm p*ssed,' she wrote. 'My older kids were sitting in their stroller watching the movie when my youngest got hungry.

‘So I fed her. She's five months old, and she eats breast milk. From my actual breast. Shocking, I know!'

One solitary post attracted almost 7,000 hits and a day later a Facebook group had been created for the nurse-in on January 19.

Media across Canada and in the U.S. soon caught wind of the story, and it sparked a national debate over whether Mrs Smith or the employee had been correct.

Some in favour of the employee said that breast-feeding is tantamount to eating lunch and even urinating – even going as far as to say that it should only happen in public bathrooms, or specially created rooms in malls.

However, mothers and parents retaliated, and argued that their young ones deserve to eat whenever, and that breast-feeding is convenient and healthy.

Rebecca Coughlin, 30, who came to the nurse-in with her six-month-old twin daughters, told AOL: 'I don't think there's any reason women should be relegated to a room.

‘It's something that we should be encouraging women to do. The last thing we should do is create a stigma around it.'

Another one of the nurse-in mob, 40-year-old Frances Moxant, said: 'I think that, basically, you should be able to do it any time and anywhere.

'Even my parish priest tells us to go ahead and do it in church. Jesus was breast-fed - he wasn't bottle-fed. So it's definitely all right.'

Mrs Smith was enthused by the large turnout and said she had been shocked by the frenzied reaction to her blog.

'A lot of people are pro-breast-feeding, and they don't talk about it because they just think it's normal,' she said.

Orchestra has since apologised to Smith, blaming the mistake on a poorly trained new employee.

Is this the unluckiest bride ever? Couple forced to cancel wedding ten times after catalogue of disasters

It is the biggest day of a girl's life, and often takes over a year to arrange. But Nicky Pretty was forced to cancel her wedding plans ten times before finally walking down the aisle.

Mrs Pretty, 41, from Bournemouth, was first due to marry fiancé Trevor, 43, three years ago, but a series of disasters prevented the couple from actually tying the knot.

Failed attempts included a double-booked venue and cancelling a home wedding after neighbours complained it would be too noisy.

Unlucky: Nicky and Trevor Pretty, who finally married in Edinburgh, were forced to cancel their wedding plans ten times

The pair called off their first wedding in Cyprus in 2008 because Nicky's brother and sister did not want to take their babies abroad.

THE TEN FAILED ATTEMPTS

Attempt 1 - February 2008
Due to marry in Cyprus but cancelled when Nicky's brother and sister both backed out because of their new-born babies.

Attempt 2 - April 2008
Booked Christchurch Captain's Club as they though it would be cheaper, but cancelled when it cost £140 a head.

Attempt 3 - August 2009
Flew to Hong Kong, but called the wedding off when they found out that it would take five days to process the marriage - and it was after they were due to come home.

Attempt 4 - June 2010
The couple decided to hire a hall for the wedding and reception, but were priced out by another couple.

Attempt 5 - July 2010
Planned a home reception, but cancelled after neighbours complained about the noise the party would create.

Attempt 6 - August 2010
Booked a ceremony in Fiji, but called it off at the last minute as no friends or family would be there.

Attempt 7 - September 2010
Booked a hotel, but called the wedding off as another couple had hired on the same day.

Attempt 8 - October 2010
Booked a nautical-themed wedding on a boat, but discovered low tides meant they couldn't use the boat.

Attempt 9 - November 2010
Tried to switch slots after discovering caterers were booked up, only to discover registrar was fully booked.

Attempt 10 - December 2010
Booked a registry office, but cancelled when they realised they couldn't get all their family and friends there.

The couple were also forced to scrap plans to marry on a boat because the tide was out, and had to abandon plans to marry on a picturesque island off Fiji.

Mr and Mrs Pretty finally married last month at Lothian Chambers in Edinburgh but only after snow threatened an 11th postponement.

Mrs Pretty, a market research project manager at Bournemouth University, said she was relieved to finally be married.

'I was beginning to think the wedding would never happen so I am relieved to be Mrs Pretty at last.

'Everything that could go wrong did go wrong but we got there in the end. I was so upset we made a pact not to talk about getting married any more as I kept bursting into tears.

'Unbeknown to Trevor I kept a stash of wedding magazines under our bed still dreaming of our big day.

'When we finally said our vows it was perfect. For some people things fall apart on the day but for me it came together and got better and better.'

One of Mrs Pretty's wedding cancellations was because their reception venue the Avonmouth Hotel, Mudeford, Dorset, had been doubled booked.

She added: 'We had hired a double decker to take the wedding party to the reception and Gary Rhodes has designed the menus.

'Then I got the bombshell call telling me owing to a ruling two brides could not be on site at the same time and as there was a wedding at the hotel itself I would not be able to wear my dress.'

The happy couple eventually got married in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle in sub-zero temperatures, surrounded by three feet of snow during a holiday with friends.

But their plans were almost thrown out after their flight from Bournemouth Airport was cancelled.

Relieved: The new Mr and Mrs Pretty share their first kiss as a married couple

They took a train to Southampton Airport, stayed overnight and were just about to board their flight to Scotland when that was also cancelled.

Despite serious weather warnings due to heavy snow, the foursome decided to drive the 365 mile journey instead, to ensure that the bride got to the venue on time.

Mrs Pretty, who wore a tailor-made white coat and trousers from Bangkok, had no time to get a bouquet.

The wedding cake was a giant cupcake iced with the words: 'Trevor and Nicky have finally done it'.

The couple exchanged personally-written vows in front of just a registrar and their two friends, accompanied by music from Mrs Pretty's iPhone.

Miracle cure or menace? E-cigarette faces ban as safety debate rages over unregulated quit-smoking device

Advocates believe e-cigarettes provide a stepping-stone to quitting, but opponents say their health impact is unknown. Now New York is considering a state-wide ban...

Hundreds of thousands of smokers who try to quit the habit fail every year despite trying exercise, nicotine patches and good old-fashioned will-power.

Now electronic cigarettes are being touted as the latest 'stop smoking' device. These battery-powered sticks are filled with a nicotine or non-nicotine solution that is heated and inhaled as a vapour.

Most are refillable devices with solutions offered in different nicotine concentrations and in hundreds of different flavours.

A man puffs on an electronic cigarette, which is filled with a nicotine cartridge. They don't contain tobacco carcinogens but may have other health risks

Advocates say they provide a stepping-stone to quitting and give the sensation of smoking without taking in the carcinogens and 1,000 chemicals found in tobacco.

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, who studied the device said the device had great potential in reducing the harm of smoking.

Writing in the Journal of Public Health Policy, they said: 'We conclude that electronic cigarettes show tremendous promise in the fight against tobacco-related morbidity and mortality.'

What are e-cigarettes?

Electronic cigarettes have three integrated parts: the nicotine cartridge, the vaporiser and a lithium ion battery.

The battery powers the cartridge and releases the nicotine by heating, rather than burning like a conventional cigarette.

There are dozens of brands including Sky Cigs, Joye 510 and Green Smoke.

An e-cigarette starter kit can range from £30 to £100 with extra refill cartridges sold separately.

A smoker on 10 cigarettes a day would save around £700 if they switched.

But while e cigarettes are marketed as a safer device to tobacco there has been little independent research into the health impact.

However, an argument is brewing in the U.S about whether they represent a new miracle cure or menace to public safety.

Some health officials say e-cigarettes are just another addictive habit, one that can hook kids early and legally on smoking.

Last year, Dr Edward Langston, of the American Medical Association said: 'Very little data exists on the safety of e-cigarettes, and the FDA has warned that they are potentially addicting and contain harmful toxins.'

He added: 'The fact that they come in fruit and candy flavors gives them the potential to entice new nicotine users, especially teens.'

Meanwhile New York lawmakers are considering introducing the first state ban on the device.

Democrat Linda Rosenthal, or the New York Assembly, said: 'I got interested in this because I saw all these ads for e-cigarettes, so I did some research.

'I found what is in the e-cigarettes is a mystery.'

The former smoker wants to ban e-cigarettes in New York until they are more thoroughly investigated and regulated.

It has prompted indignation from former smokers who say they have been helped by the device.

Elaine Keller, vice president of the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association, said: 'I would still be smoking if not for this product.'

Ms Keller said she has been tobacco-free since March 2009 after 45 years of smoking.

She added: 'I can't point to anything to say it's 100 percent safe,' she said.

'The thing is, it only needs to be safer. The only standard is that it's safer than smoking.'

E-cigarettes have prompted debate nationwide since they became widely available in the United States in 2006.

But as either a tobacco cigarette substitute or a much more extensively tested and restricted drug-delivery device, the future of e-cigarettes will likely be decided by the Food and Drug Administration.

However, this has not proven a simple task. The FDA tried to class e-cigarettes as drug-delivery devices as these require research and trials that tobacco products do not need.

However, a federal judge overturned this decision because e-cigarettes heat nicotine extracted from tobacco.

It is likely the argument will run for some time yet as powerful lobbies are involved.

If treated as a tobacco product, e-cigarettes would avoid the research and trials required of competitors in the pharmaceutical industry, including anti-smoking patches and inhalers.

However, as a medical device, e-cigarettes could draw opposition from that powerful lobby as a fresh and less expensive competitor.

Common garden weed 'cures skin cancer', say scientists

A common weed could help cure skin cancers, claim researchers.

The sap from a plant known as petty spurge or milkweed - found by roadsides and in woodland - can 'kill' certain types of cancer cells when applied to the skin.

It works on non-melanoma skin cancers, which affect hundreds of thousands of Britons each year.

Milkweed miracle: You can find this weed invading gardens beds across the UK, but it has great cancer-fighting properties

They are triggered by sun damage and, although not usually fatal, can be disfiguring without treatment.

The plant has been used for centuries as a traditional folk medicine to treat conditions such as warts, asthma and several types of cancer.

But for the first time a team of scientists in Australia has carried out a clinical study of sap from Euphorbia peplus, which is related to Euphorbia plants grown in gardens in the UK.

The study of 36 patients with a total of 48 non-melanoma lesions included basal cell carcinomas (BCC), squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and intraepidermal carcinomas (IEC), a growth of cancerous cells confined to the outer layer of the skin.

Patients had failed to respond to conventional treatment including surgery, or they refused or were unsuitable for surgery because of their age.

The patients were treated once a day for three consecutive days by an oncologist using a cotton bud to apply enough of the E.peplus sap to cover the surface of each lesion.

The initial results were impressive, says findings to be released this week in the British Journal of Dermatology.

After only one month 41 of the 48 cancers had completely gone.

Patients who had some of the lesions remaining were offered a second course of treatment.

After an average of 15 months following treatment, two thirds of the 48 skin cancer lesions were still showing a complete response.

Of the three types of skin cancer tested, the final outcome was a 75 per cent complete response for IEC lesions, 57 per cent for BCC and 50 per cent for SCC lesions.

Side-effects were low, with 43 per cent of patients in no pain as a result of the treatment and only 14 per cent reporting moderate pain, and only one patient encountered severe short-term pain.

FACTFILE: PETTY SPURGE, OR MILKWOOD

Latin name: Euphorbia peplus

Occurrence: Petty spurge is a small, branched annual, plentiful in gardens and arable fields.

It is native and common throughout the UK, in any kind of soil. The plant exudes a milky sap when damaged, which is a severe irritant if applied to the skin.

Biology: Petty spurge flowers from April to November. The seed number per plant ranges from 260 to 1,200.

Petty spurge may be found in fruit for eight months of the year. Seedlings emerge throughout the year except for in winter but the main flush is from April to May. Most seed germinates within a year of shedding.

Just a few seedlings emerge in the following 5 years. Germination occurs at 5 to 10 mm depth in soil.

Persistence and Spread: Seed recovered from house demolitions and archaeological digs and dated at 20, 25, 30 and 100 years old has been reported to germinate.

Source: www.gardenorganic.org.uk

In all cases of successful treatment the skin was left with a good cosmetic appearance.

The researchers, from a number of medical institutions in Brisbane, attribute the benefit to the active ingredient ingenol mebutate which has been shown to destroy tumour cells.

British experts said further studies were needed and people should not try this at home as the weed sap can be harmful to the eyes and should not be eaten.

More than 76,500 people are diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer in the UK each year, with 90 per cent caused by ultraviolet light exposure.

Lesions usually appear on the areas most exposed to the sun, such as the head, neck, ears, and back of the hands.

Kimberley Carter of the British Association of Dermatologists said: 'This is a very small test group so it will be interesting to see what larger studies and the development of the active ingredient in E. peplus sap will reveal.

'Whilst it would not provide an alternative to surgery for the more invasive skin cancers or melanoma, in the future it might become a useful addition to the treatments available to patients for superficial, non-melanoma skin cancers.

'Any advances that could lead to new therapies for patients where surgery is not an option are definitely worth investigating.

'It is also very important to note that this is definitely not a treatment people should be trying out at home.

'Exposure of the sap to mucous producing surfaces, such as the eyes, results in extreme inflammation and can lead to hospitalisation.

'The concentration of the active ingredients in the sap also varies between different plants, with high doses able to cause very severe and excessive inflammatory responses.'

New couples who Facebook each other end up in bed quicker because they've already formed 'a digital intimacy'

• 72% of women admit to researching new lover's ex-partners on social network sites
  

As if teenagers and young adults needed another excuse to spend more time using their electronic gadgets.

Four out of five women and three out of five men believe texting, Facebook and other social networking tools cause new couples to jump into bed faster, a survey claims.

Thirty-eight per cent of women say they have actually slept with a date sooner because of so-called 'digital intimacy'.

Modern courtship: 80 per cent of women and 58 per cent of men said using social media leads to sex faster

Use of social media via smart phones and laptops are the new toys that lead to the bedroom, the researchers claim.

Clinical psychologist Dr Belisa Vranich said: 'The texting and all the social networking that's happening create anticipation.

'If your goal is to have sex, texting is actually helpful for that because it makes the correspondence between people sort of more titillating.

'It also gives the false impression that you've actually been together for a longer amount of time, so it's actually OK to have sex quicker.

'You may have gone out once or twice, but since there's been so much exchange, either in texting or Facebook, it feels longer.

'It actually feels like its been longer than just two dates.'

Texting is the number one way lovers stay in touch, the survey also found, with men sending mobile messages 39 per cent more often than phoning and women 150 per cent more.

Even before consummating a relationship, 70 per cent of women and 63 per cent of men use Google and other online tools to screen potential dates.

Sixty-five per cent of those polled said they had been asked out by text and 49 per cent through a Facebook message, according to the 1,200 women and men who took part in the survey by Shape and Men's Fitness magazines

Once the relationship clicks, 72 per cent of women report scouring a current partner's ex-girlfriends' Facebook pages.

Even in the heat of passion, some people just can't get enough of their digital devices, the survey found. When a call or text comes in during sex, 5 per cent of respondents said they glance to see who is calling and 1 per cent say they stop to answer the phone.

And when the spark is extinguished, digital dumping is the new way to break up, with 43 per cent of women and 27 per cent of men reporting getting a text along the lines of 'It's not you, it's me.'

For the heartbroken, the internet keeps hope alive, with 81 per cent of all respondents saying they won't de-friend an ex on Facebook and 75 per cent admitting to constantly checking a former sweetheart's page.

How a spot of morning passion can make you glow all day long

Seeking a healthy boost to kick start your day? Look no further than the bedroom.

Adults who make love first thing in the morning apparently not only feel more upbeat for the rest of the day, but also benefit from a stronger immune system.

Research suggests that adults who begin their day this way are healthier and happier than those who simply opt for a cup of tea and some toast before heading out of the door.

Feel-good hormones: The chemicals released during morning intercourse can improve your health and mood for the whole day

Not only does it make them less likely to catch a cold or flu, it can also improve the quality of their hair, skin, and nails.

Dr Debby Herbenick, an American research scientist and sex advice columnist, said: ‘Having sex in the morning releases the feel-good chemical oxytocin, which makes couples feel loving and bonded all day long.’

Dr Herbenick, author of the book Because It Feels Good, added: ‘It makes you stronger and more beautiful too: Morning sex can strengthen your immune system for the day by enhancing your levels of IgA, an antibody that protects against infection.

‘And it releases chemicals that boost levels of oestrogen, which improves the tone and texture of your skin and hair.’

Other research suggests that the benefits do not end there. A study at Queens University in Belfast found that having sex three times a week could halve the risk of heart attack or stroke.

Despite the demands of work and a family, adults should still try to find time for lovemaking as soon as they stir.

Jane Greer, an American marital therapist, said: ‘Mornings are the perfect time to indulge because you’ll probably be in a rush, and the heart-pounding adrenaline of spontaneous sex will intensify the entire experience.’

'Mornings are the perfect time to indulge in a quickie, because you’ll probably be in a rush, and the heart-pounding adrenaline of spontaneous sex will intensify the entire experience,' she says.

And women worried their partner will not be willing to participate in an early morning session, may find it surprisingly easy to coax their men into a bout of passion.

'While he sleeps, the testosterone he’ll use for the upcoming day accumulates,' says Gabrielle Lichterman, author of 28 Days. 'From the time he wakes up, he has a three-hour window when he’s brimming with peak levels.'

The benefits do not end there for those who indulge in regular intercourse.

A study at Queens University in Belfast found that having sex three times a week could actually halve the risk of heart attack or stroke.

A 2009 study found that having sex every day improves sperm quality and could boost the chances of getting pregnant. In tests of men with fertility problems, daily ejaculation for a week cut the amount of DNA damage seen in sperm samples.

Research from Nottingham University also found that men who kept up a regular sex life in their 50s were also at lower risk of developing prostate cancer.