The number of women dying from breast cancer has fallen to a record low by dipping under 12,000 a year for the first time since records began.

The Cancer Research UK data showed that 11,990 women died in the UK in 2007.

The previous lowest figure had been recorded in 1971 – the year records began – after which it rose steadily year-on-year until the late 1980s.

The figures come despite rising rates of diagnoses with experts saying better care and screening is saving lives.

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British women are the most overweight in Europe – but are also the most comfortable about their size, a study suggests.

French women, meanwhile, are the thinnest, yet worry more about being fat than those in any other EU country.

The findings highlight both massive differences in the weight of men and women across Europe, and how countries’ attitudes to obesity vary.

In France, the proportion of thin women has long been the highest in Europe. Around 6.7 per cent of French women are dangerously thin.

According to the most recent statistics, French women also have Europe’s lowest average Body Mass Index – the measure of weight that takes into account someone’s height.

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The ancient Great Wall of China is almost 200 miles longer than previously thought, according to a new study.

An extra 180 miles of the world-renowned ancient Chinese monument were uncovered after a two-year government mapping study, according to an official report.

The study used mapping technologies such as infrared range finders and GPS devices to show extra portions of the wall – hidden by hills, trenches and rivers – that stretch from Hu Mountain in northern Liaoning province to Jiayu Pass in western Gansu province.

The newly mapped parts of the wall were built during the Ming Dynasy to protect against northern invaders.

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A study has found that those who did not enjoy the optimum level of seven to eight hours sleep a night were two and a half times more likely to develop a blood sugar abnormality linked to type 2 diabetes.

Researchers who studied the habits of 276 volunteers over a six-year period said they did not know the cause.

The findings, published in the journal Sleep Medicine, suggest seven to eight hours’ sleep a night seems to be the ideal amount for adults to protect against common diseases and premature death.

Scientists say they do not know the cause, but previous studies have shown a link between sleep patterns and obesity, cardiovascular disease and overall mortality.

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A new sensor has been developed to text you when your plants need watering.   

Israeli scientists have come up with the device that sends text messages to farmers or homeowners when plants need a drink.

It has been developed to help cut water usage and avoid damaging plants or crops.

Dr. Eran Raveh and Dr Arie Nadler have spent seven years perfecting the sensor.

It gauges water levels in the plants and sends real time text alerts to mobile phones or computers when levels get too low.

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Unlike the cruel and unusual punishment of the cat o’nine tails, this cute cat o’ four ears is nothing to be afraid of.

This is Yoda, a household pet born with an extra set of ears.

Valerie and Ted Rock took the cat in two years ago after visiting a bar in Chicago, Illinois, where a group of curious drinkers were handing him around.

He was one of a large litter, and the Rocks were happy to offer him a home.

Now the couple have to keep him indoors to prevent their rare pet from being cat-napped.

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Carrying four stones of excess weight can cost you three years of life, warn researchers.

A study of almost a million adults has given the clearest indication yet of the mortal dangers of obesity.

Those who are extremely overweight could lose ten years of their life, it says.

Scientists from Oxford University assessed the impact of obesity by analysing data from 57 separate studies.

They found a clear link between high body mass index scores and an early grave.

Using BMI gives a good measure of how overweight a person is, because it compares weight to height.

But the scientists also gave an estimate of how much excess weight could be dangerous compared with an ‘ideal’ weight.

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Mental powers start to dwindle at 27 after peaking at 22, marking the start of old age, US research suggests.

Professor Timothy Salthouse of the University of Virginia found reasoning, spatial visualisation and speed of thought all decline in our late 20s.

Therapies designed to stall or reverse the ageing process may need to start much earlier, he said.

His seven-year study of 2,000 healthy people aged 18-60 is published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

To test mental agility, the study participants had to solve puzzles, recall words and story details and spot patterns in letters and symbols.

The same tests are already used by doctors to spot signs of dementia.

In nine out of 12 tests the average age at which the top performance was achieved was 22.

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You should be taking 100 steps each minute for half an hour a day if you want to achieve "moderate" exercise by walking, a study shows.

A US team reached the figure after measuring the body’s oxygen demand in some 100 people walking on a treadmill.

They wrote in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine that a pedometer alone was not enough to gauge exercise as it gave no data on intensity.

US and UK guidelines urge half an hour of moderate exercise five days a week.

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A test which can accurately detect Alzheimer’s in its very early stages has been created by U.S. scientists.

It can spot the disease before dementia symptoms appear and widespread damage occurs.

It was 87 per cent accurate at predicting which patients with early memory problems and other symptoms would eventually be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the researchers said.

The test measures proteins in spinal fluid which are known indicators of whether someone is likely to develop Alzheimer’s.

Leslie Shaw of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, whose study appears in the Annals of Neurology, said: ‘With this test, we can reliably detect and track the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.’

Author and Alzheimer’s sufferer Terry Pratchett is a staunch campaigner for research into the disease

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