Overweight women or women with high blood sugar levels may be at more risk of developing an aggressive form of breast cancer, according to a new study.

However, the research also found that this group of women had a smaller risk of low-risk breast cancer.

The study by Swedish scientists is believed to be the first to look at how excess body fat and blood sugar levels affect the chance of developing different types of tumours.

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Japan is having a birth rate crisis – because the nation has gone off sex, it has been revealed.

A quarter of married couples in Japan have not made love in the past year, according to the World Health Organisation.

The country’s birth rate is already among the lowest in the world and is falling even further.

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Owning a cat can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes by more than a third, researchers have found.

Having a furry friend around the house cuts stress and anxiety, and helps protect against heart disease by lowering blood pressure and reducing the heart rate.

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A new blood test for breast cancer has been launched in Britain.
Scientists say it can detect tumours two years before they become big enough to feel by hand.

The new test can also alert doctors to the presence of cancer even though it may not show up on mammograms.

The DiaGenic test will initially be available privately through Opaldia Breastcare clinics but the NHS is also interested.

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US investment guru Warren Buffett has ousted his friend and occasional bridge partner Bill Gates as the world’s richest man, Forbes magazine says.
The Microsoft co-founder had topped the Forbes business magazine’s rich-list for the past 13 years.

Mr Buffett’s wealth increased by $10bn (£5bn) last year to $62bn.

Mr Gates’s fortune climbed by $2bn during the same period, dragging him down to third on the list with a fortune of $58bn.

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Slimy goo from the skin of an exotic green and pink frog could provide a radical new treatment for diabetes.

Scientists say the South American paradoxical frog – so-called because it shrinks in size with age – secretes a substance from its skin which protects it from infection.

But researchers believe the molecule could stimulate the release of insulin – the vital hormone lacking in diabetes sufferers.

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Wholegrain cereal is best, but anything is better than an empty stomach
Body-conscious teenagers may believe cutting out breakfast will help them lose weight, but the opposite appears to be the case, US research suggests.

In a five year study of more than 2,000 youngsters, those who skipped breakfast were found to weigh about 5lbs (2.3kg) more than those who ate first thing.

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Doctors in Colombia are using hammocks to help care for premature babies.

The specially-designed hammocks measure just 50cms in length and are place in the incubator for the baby to lie on.

The team at the hospital in Cartagena, a port on the northern coast of the South American country, first started using the technique two years ago.

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An Iranian court has ordered a man to give his wife the 124,000 roses that he promised in her dowry, after she filed a complaint to claim it, reports say.

The woman said she was claiming the dowry because her “very stingy husband” would not even pay for a cup of coffee, according to the E’temad newspaper.

The court has seized the man’s flat until he produces all of the roses.

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