LONDON has risen five places to 15th in the global cost-of-living table because of Britain’s soaring inflation.

The capital leapt five places in a list headed by Tokyo, Oslo and Osaka to its highest ranking since the financial crisis began in 2008, overtaking Milan, Brussels, Madrid Barcelona and Vienna. Analysts said rising shop prices, higher taxes and a slightly stronger pound had made London more expensive.

OLYMPIC TERROR TEST

MOCK Olympic Games are to be staged in London this autumn to prepare for possible terror attacks.

Police, armed forces and other emergency services and counterterrorism units will join a series of exercises to test security for the 2012 showpiece. Home Secretary Theresa May said the capital will be able to withstand all threats despite police budget cuts.

STAND UP–OR DIE

BAD news for office workers and coach potatoes – sitting for two long can kill you. According to new research, spending long periods sitting down doubles the risk of developing blood clots in the lungs. The results remained the same after factors such as age and smoking were taken into account. “More should be done to discourage a sedentary lifestyle,” it was suggested. The Canadian study, published in the British Medical Journal, examined 69,950 women.

SILENT SCREENING

THREE  of Alfred  Hitchcock’s earliest  films will be screened complete with orchestral backing in London as part of the build up to next year’s Olympics. The silent movies date from the 1920s. Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone , close to the games site.

WOMEN MAKE BETTER GARDENERS

Women make better gardeners than men a survey claims. They do a better job choosing, arranging and tending to flowers and planting hanging baskets. They also are better at weeding and watering.

But men are better at mowing lawns, digging flowers beds, tending vegetable patches and decking fences, according to the poll for Roundup Weed Killer.

ORGAN DONORS UP

A RECORD 18 million people are willing to donate their organs after death. Almost one in three people are on the donor register, according to the NHS BLOOD and Transport (NHSBT) Authority. More than 1,000 people in Britain donated organs after they died last year, allowing for about 2,700 transplants. The report comes a week after NHBT warned of a generation gap in blood donors following a 20 percent drop in the number of young people giving blood over the past decade.

SHARP INCREASE IN SUICIDES

THE recession triggered a sharp increase in the number of suicides, as people were tipped over the edge by the financial crisis. In 2008, as the recession took hold, 329 more people killed themselves than the previous year according to the Office of National Statistics.

It said the number of suicides had been falling in the run up to the downturn but there was a clear increase in 2008 as people felt the impact of job losses and began to struggle financially.

In 2007 there were 5,377 suicides; in 2008 the figure rose to 5,507 and remained high at 5,675 in 2009.

MOBILE PHONES

MEN and women from 16 to 24 would rather give up watching TV than go without their mobile phones, according to research by Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries.

FALLEN SICK ABROAD

THE number of brits falling ill abroad has trebled in just six years to a record 6,500 a week . The cost to insurers is £275 million a year. An association of British insurers spokesman advised, “It proves medical cover is vital for all travellers.”

FRIENDS AT WORK HELP YOU LIVE LONGER.

GETTING along with fellow  workers is not just good for office moral it also could help you live longer.

Psychologists found that one of the secrets to long life was having a good partner-support system at work. They looked at the health records of 820 workers over a 20-year period during which 53 of them died. The workers, many of whom were in manual jobs, were questioned about how they got on with colleagues.

Having eliminated risk factors such as smoking, drinking and serious illnesses, researchers from Tel Aviv  University in Israel found that those who got on with workmates lived longer. Those with higher life expectancy reported that they found their workmates friendly and helpful, said the study, which was carried out for the American  Psychological Association.

BOOK A HOLIDAY

BRITAINS are Europe’ s biggest holiday readers, finishing 66 million books cumulatively in two weeks abroad, according to a poll conducted by last minute.com.

BRITISH HOLIDAYS

A record number of foreigners visited Britain for a holiday last year. They made just under 11 million trips. The total number of visits including business trips and seeing family was nearly 30 million.

The French made up the largest group, 3.6 million, followed by the Germans, 3 million,  Americans, 2.7 million, and Irish, 2.6 million, according to the Office for National Statistics.

London was their main focus, with overnight stays rising from 14.2 million to 14.7 million.

Those holidaying in the capital rose from 7 million to 7.3 million while foreigners spent a record £8.7 billion in 2010 – up £500 million from a year earlier.

The number of overseas holidays by Britons fell by 5.2 percent when air travel was affected by the first Icelandic volcanic ash-cloud crisis.

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BRITONS are obsessed with the 1980s–recalling  the decade as the best time of their lives.

Nearly 90 percent of people quizzed by a TV station preferred eighties fashions, which included Madonna style fingerless gloves.

Music also made them nostalgic, with 25 percent saying the 1982 hit Come On Eileen by Dexy’s Midnight  Runners was their favourite.

Many saw the 1980s as a decade of invention with the microwave oven and the video recorder. Seven in 10 confessed to hankering after food from that era such as crispy pancakes and arctic roll. Sherbet dips and flying saucers sweets were also coveted.

Favourite TV shows included Charlie’s Angels, Dallas and Hawai Five O. TV station CBS Drama, which carried out the survey, concluded that the eighties reminded people of a time of less economic  hardship.

IT’S A DIRTY BUSINESS

A THIRD of British workers have taken a business call while sitting on the loo.

And older staff are the worst offenders, with almost half of those in their 50s and 60s admitting to doing it.

Peter Gradwell of internet provider Gradwell, which ordered  the study of people’s phone habits, said, “Their is a time and place for picking up the phone I’d suggest the toilet isn’t one.”

GIVING UP TV

YOUNG people aged 16 to 24 would rather give up watching TV than go without their mobile phone, according to research by media watchdog Ofcom.

WEALTHY WOMEN ARE ON THE RISE

WEALTHY women are on he rise with more that 100 on the Sunday Times Rich List for the first time.

One in ten of Britain’s 1,000 wealthiest are now female with £6.9 billion pharmaceauticals boss, ex-Miss UK Kirsty Bertarelli, 39, the richest at number five overall.

The list includes divorce winners like F1 boss Bernie Exxlestone ex Slavai on £734 million and Chelsea owners Roman Abramovich’s ex Irins on £155 million. Go Compare  tycoon Hayley Parsons, 73, is on £95 million.

Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, 60, worth £17,5 billion, again tops the list

LONDON IS BIGGEST DRAW

LONDON attracts more visitors and foreign expenditure than any other city, according to a survey by Master Card. The city expects 20.1 million visitors this year, 2 million more than Paris in second place.

London also  ranked top in terms of cross-border expenditures, ahead of New York, in second place, and Paris, third.

BRITAIN TOO PRICEY

Many British hotels, restaurants and attractions are overpriced and lack quality, a Lonely Planet guide said last week.

The UK may be a bargain for foreigners because of the weak economy. But Britons are in danger of being forced abroad next year, said David  Else in the Great Britain guide, out today.

“Brits wallets are struggling to take the strain,” Else observed. “Some of Britains’s tourism industry just doesn’t deliver. Shun overpriced restaurants,” he advised. Instead of  a £5 curry choose a pie in a pub.

ASH FEAR FOR BRITS

THE volcanic ash cloud that erupted from Iceland has left seven out of 10 Brits terrified of planning a June holiday. Six in 10 are nervous about booking flights, while one in five plans to stay in Britain instead, a poll for shopping website Invisible Hand revealed.

Founder Robin Landy concludes that “The risk of losing money and facing delays seems to be at the forefront of people’s minds. “

NON-WHITE POPULATION EXPLODES

THE non-white British population has reached 9.1 million, according to the Office for National Statistics, up 40 percent from the 6.6 million figure in 2001.

Total population of England and Wales increased by 2.45 million from 2001 to 2009 to 54.8 million. While the white British population has stayed the same since 2001, the non-white British population has grown an average of 4.1 percent a year. The “other white” population also has increased from 1.4 million to 1.9 million, in part because of increased immigration from Eastern Europe.

MOBILE HEART TEST

SCIENTISTS have invented a gadget that turns a mobile phone into a heart monitor.

The £300 Amartheart links to Smartphones and performs electrocardiograms in 30 seconds. Results can be emailed to doctors.  De Joseph ~Vettukattil of Southampton Hospital, said, “A problem with heart conditions is that when a doctor sees you they stop. With this it’s easy to take a recording.”

WOMEN BEST IN GARDEN

WOMEN make better gardeners than men. They do a better job of choosing, arranging and tending to flowers and planting hanging baskets  And they are more thorough at weeding and watering, according to a new survey. But men are better at mowing lawns, diggings flower beds, tending vegetable patches and maintaining fences and decking, according to the poll conducted for Roundup Weed Killer.

SMOKING TO KILL 6 MILLION

TOBACCO will kill nearly 6 million people this year, including 600,000 non-smokers. The World Health Organisation predicted that the annual death toll could reach 8 million by 2030.

THE WHO accused  governments of not doing enough to get people to quit or to protect others from secon-hand smoke. It claimed a time lagged epidemic of tobacco-related disease and death had only just begun.

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NEARLY one in eight people who live in Britain was not born here, according to the Office of National Statistics. Rising immigration has meant that the number of people living in the UK but not born here has nearly doubled in past 20 years to just under 7 million. About 11 percent of residents  are immigrants.

If present trends continue over the next two decades, the UK population will grow to 70 million–two thirds from immigration. Britain already has a larger immigrant population than France and Italy. Many blame Labour’s open-door policy for the sharp rise in immigrants during the party’s 13 years in power.

Save for your 100th birthday

MORE than one in four children now under the age of 16 will live to be 100, according to new government figures. Some 11 million children fall into that age group; 3.3 million can expect to celebrate their centenary.

The numbers were reported by the Department for Work and Pensions to support the need to increase the retirement age and to reform pensions.

It was further noted that 5.4 million Brits now are between 17 and 50, and 1.4 million 51 to 65.

More than 900,000 of current retirees can expect to live for at least another 35 years, or to age 100. The UK had 11,600 centenarians in 2009–7 percent more than 1999, four times that recorded 30 years ago.

The increase in life expectancy has come about as a result of improvements in diet and exercise, less smoking and improvements in medicine and health services.

More single-parent homes

THE number of British children growing up in single parent families is still on the rise, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Fewer than two thirds of youngsters now grow up with two married parents. Some 21.5 percent of children in the UK live with a single parent. In Europe, that statistic is exceeded only in Ireland and Estonia. Just 13.5 percent of French children are brought up by a single parent; 15 percent of German; 10.2 percent of Italian and 7.2 of Spanish children.

The OECD reported that youngsters in the UK are now a third as likely to be brought up by a single parent and a fifth as likely to be brought up by an unmarried couple. About 12.6 percent of children live with both parents who are not married.

Last month a think tank found that a child growing up in a one-parent home is 75 percent more likely to fail at school, 70 percent more likely to become a drug addict, 50 percent more likely to have an alcohol problem, and 35 percent more likely to be unemployed as an adult.

The OECD predicts the number of single parents will shoot up by 22 percent in the next 15 to 20 years as a result of a rising rates of divorce and fertility.

Looking at property

SOME 70 million Britons spend about 17 hours a month looking at property  Web sites, with nearly two thirds of them looking at homes that they could never afford.

A poll of 4,000 people by PromesLocation.com–property division of the Daily Mail and General Trust, explained that people simply enjoy searching for their dream property, even if the price is out of their league.

And in other regal news

With Prince William and Kate Middleton the focus of attention, it’s easy to forget that the  Queen has reached a significant milestone. On May 13 she became the second-longest reigning monarch in British history, overtaking George III, who reigned from 1760 to 1820. As Newsnight political editor Michael Crick worked out, his reign spanned 59 years and 96 days, or 21,644 days.

The Queen, who succeeded to the throne February 6,  1952, reached 21,644 days in the job on May 22. Queen Victoria was the longest serving British monarch. She reigned between 1837 and  1901–a total of more than 63 years or 23,222 days.

The British Crime Survey

Burglaries soared 14 percent last year to more than one every minute. The increase threatened to overshadow a further fall in the overall  level of crime, which is at the lowest since records began in 1981.

British Crime  Survey figures, based on interviews with the public, found that there were 734,000 burglaries in 2010, an increase of 90,000.

Crime may increase further if police budgets are cut by a fifth, thereby reducing frontline officers. The 14 percent increase in burglaries was contradicted by police crime figures, which showed burglary was down by 7 percent. Neighbourhood watch explained the discrepancy by suggesting that victims are no longer bothering to report break-ins to police.

Time to propose

BRITISH women believe two years and five months into a relationship is the ideal time for their partner to propose; one in 10 has dumped a partner for taking too long to pop the question. And most would not follow the example of Kate Middleton, which was dubbed “Waity Katy” because she waited about seven years for Prince William’s proposal.

One sixth of British women have met someone else while waiting for their man to ask them to marry them, according to the poll Pop “N” Fizz  app.

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It is illegal for anyone other than authorized agents to offer any of the 8.8 million tickets. Reselling for profit also is illegal.

BRITONS HOPE FOR BIG WIN

A record 5 billion lottery tickets have been sold this year. Bosses at Camelot have reported a 5 percent rise in playing, with the credit crunch helping sales increase by 18 percent in the last decade.

Ticket sales in the year ended March 31 are seen hitting a record £5.7 billion, and prize money is tipped to top £2.9. So far, lottery bosses have paid more than £37.5 billion in prizes, creating 2,500 new millionaires. Camelot Chief Executive Dianne Thompson said sales had risen steadily since the start of the second lottery licence in 2002.

FOREIGNERS TAKE OVER BRITISH FIRMS

FOREIGN takeovers of British firms have reached record levels. Two thirds of British companies sold between October and December last year were swallowed up by overseas predators, according to city law firm Wdlake Bell.

In 2010 as a whole, foreign firms bought a record 54 percent of the 113 listed companies that changed hands. The law firm blamed Britain’s recession for the ongoing fallout as a larger number of businesses succumbed to outside bids.

Wdlake Partner Tim Bird said, “We should be concerned that British firms do not have the firepower to be the hunter rather than the hunted.”

FAT RISE IN SALES

A QUARTER of all women’s clothes sold this year will be size 18 or over as obesity levels escalate demand for bigger clothes. Large clothing now is the fastest-growing sector on the High Street.

Retail experts at Verdict say clothes for tubby young women and teenagers are the driving force behind the expansion. They predict sales will increase 6 percent this year to £4.9 billion at a time when most other sectors are waning.

THE END OF PUBS?

BRITAIN’S pubs and bars face closing time for good as they come under intense pressure from supermarket bargain-booze deals encouraging consumers to drink at home.

The number of restaurants, bars, pubs and nightclubs giving up their alcohol licences rose by 13 percent over the last year.

According to one study, some 5,742 alcohol licences were surrendered in 2010–twice that of 2007 when 2,830 licenses were given up. In 2009, 5,102 licences were surrendered.

Legal analysts Sweet MaXWELL said the statistics demonstrated the effect  of the recession on the sector. Accountancy firm Ilkins Kennedy found that more than one bar or pub went bust each day in 2010. The firm warned that bars, restaurants and nightclubs are under “intense competitive pressure” from supermarkets and big chains as well as the combined impact of the smoking ban, rising alcohol duties and shrinking disposable incomes.

The rate of losses is highest in London and the northwest, though all regions are suffering declines.

CANCER LINKED TO ALCOHOL

DRINKING is the cause of cancer in one in 10 men and one in 33 in women, according to research published in the British Medical Journal.  While even small amounts of alcohol increase the risk of cancer, drinking above recommended limits causes the majority of cancer cases linked to alcohol in Western Europe, experts say.

RETIREES FACE POVERTY

MORE than a third of those retiring this year are set to live below the poverty line, research from Prudential finds. The minimum income standard for a single person is £14,000 a year, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation says, but 35 percent of this year’s retirees will receive less.

PAY UP TO BE A BRIT

MIGRANTS should bid at auction to buy an entry visa to Britain. A leading think tank believes it would help solve Britain’s immigration problem and raise up to £600 million a year.

The Institute of Economic Affairs suggests that people willing to pay the most to live in the UK are likely to be the same people who would contribute most to the economy.

The plan was put forward by Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Gary Becker, who said, “The people most likely to be attracted by a fee are the most economically active migrants and those with a real commitment to the United Kingdom.”

NIGHT WARNING

NIGHT shifts are unhealthy and should be limited to eight hours, a new study concludes. Urging the Government to take action, the Young Foundation said night workers are more likely to suffer poor mental health, cancer and pregnancy problems.

They also are three times more likely to have accidents.

Around 1.3 million Brits work at night; the number is likely to grow.

UP WITH MILLIONAIRES

The number of millionaires in Britain is growing by more than 100 every day as the country emerges from the depths of the recession. Figures from Barclays Wealth show that  there are currently 610,000 millionaires in the UK–up from 528,000 two years ago.

A combination of the stock market recovery, private enterprise and an influx of rich foreigners generated daily increases of 120 super-rich Brits a day. Of the total, about 86,000 have more than £5 million in assets–up 19 percent.

Alex Cheatle, founder of Ten Lifestyle Management, which looks after the leisure demands of the very wealthy, says his client base is booming. He charges £300 a month for a range of services from booking a table at Heston Blumenthal’s latest restaurant to finding a £10-million house in London.

“They are millionaires in their own right and can take advantage of the tax advantages of being non-domiciled,” Cheatle notes. “With all the political instability, London is a safe haven–and it’s fun.”

THE DECLINE OF MARRIAGE

MARRIAGE has fallen to its lowest level since records began (no reflection on the Royal Wedding). In England and Wales in 2009 there were 231,490 marriages, the fewest since 1895. That same year, there were 21.3 men marrying per 1,000 unmarried adult men, and 19.9 women marrying per 1,000 unmarried women over 16, according to the Office for National Statistics. Experts said the cost of living could be a factor.

Jenny North of Relate, the relationship counseling people, called the figures “worrying. Couples were buying a house, getting the perfect job, or buying a car before they wed.” She added, “As money gets tighter these things got harder to achieve.” The average age for first-time brides climbed to 30 in 2009  In 1981 it was 23.1 For grooms it was 32.1 in 2009, up from 25.4 in 1981.

Anastasia de Wall, director of family and education for the independent think-tank Civitas, said it was inevitable that as more women go to university, marriage ages rise.  “What’s worrying,” she added, “is that unemployment and financial insecurity are thwarting aspirations.”

SECRET OF GOOD SLEEP?

IF you want a good night’s sleep switch off the TV, computer and mobile phone an hour before going to bed, say experts in America. Nine in ten people admit to using electronics in the hour before turning in, and it’s wrecking their sleep patterns,  the study concludes.

They blame artificial light emitted by TV and computer screens and over-stimulation of the brain. The worst activities are playing video games, using mobiles and surfing the Internet, according to a major survey conducted by the U.S. National Sleep Foundation.

Dr. Charles Czeisler, Harvard University Medical School, points out that “Artificial light exposure between dusk and the time we go to bed suppresses release of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, enhances alertness and shifts normal sleep patterns to a later hour.”

Technology is disrupting sleep even after lights out. Ten percent of people in their twenties say they are routinely awakened during the night by phone calls, text messages or emails.

Professor Jim Horne, director of the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University, notes that “even children aged five, six and seven have got video games in their bedroom. They need to settle down and relax before going to bed.”

FLAT BOOB TUBERS

BRITONS buy nearly twice as many television sets as their continental counterparts, and their model of choice is now the flat screen. An astonishing 43 million flat screen tellies were sold in the UK between 2004 and 2010. That figure far outstrips the 28 million sold in Germany and 27 million in France, it was reported.

British viewers spend many more hours in front of their TV sets than they realize. The average Brit now watches the tube about 28 hours a week–an increase of three hours  over viewing habits in 2001. But official statistics showed the true figure is nearer 30 hours.

BIONIC EYE FOR THE BLIND

A BIONIC EYE that enables blind people to see has been approved after lengthy testing. Checks have shown that the device is safe, which could mean that it eventually will be routinely available on the NHS.

Specialists said that tests over almost three years had “impressed” beyond expectations.

Revolutionary retina implants work in conjunction with a camera mounted on a pair of glasses. They have already transformed the lives of 30 people during initial tests.   Doctors now hope the “bionic eye” could be used to treat some 20,000 people in the UK who are blind because of failed retinas.

FAMILIES GET CLOSE

TWO THIRDS of people feel closer to their family now than five years ago, a story has revealed.  Four in five say spending time with their loved ones is their top activity. And more than half of parents believe their relationships with their children have improved in the last five years, while 44 per cent of children say they get on better with mum and dad.

And nearly three-quarters of parents whose children have left home report they continue to see their offspring about once a month, according to the Disneyland, Paris report. A spokesman called it “encouraging that the picture of broken families is not necessarily true.”

SIX IN 1O SMOKERS CAN’T QUIT

MORE than half of those who vowed to give up cigarettes at New Year failed after just eight weeks. About 2.2 million Britons resolved to quit as 2011 was ushered in, but six in 10 (59 per cent} saw their plans go up in smoke.

Researchers among 2,000 people by Santander Bank for National No Smoking Day  found giving up is not only good for your health but could also save an average smoker £1,004 a year.

Reza Attar-Zadeh of Santander Bank said, “Public awareness of the health benefits of giving up smoking is much higher now, but it seems this still isn’t enough.”

BLUEBERRIES IN; FAT OUT

SLIM down with blueberries. If you want to shed the pounds increase your intake of the nutritious fruit that scientists have learned can slash fat cells up to 75 percent.

Researchers discovered that the berries–hailed as a “super food” for their ability to help prevent heart disease and type 2 diabetes–can breakdown fat cells in the body and prevent new ones from forming.

SWAPPING homes is tipped to be this year’s top holiday trend.

Twice as many people are planning a property-exchange this year compared with last year, a poll found. About 1.6 million holidaymakers have already arranged a swap in 2011, with Cornwall, Scotland and the Lake District among the most popular destinations.

The survey also found that many families are happy to trade homes with counterparts in countries such as Spain (15 percent), Italy (15 percent) and France (12 percent). Some are venturing even farther afield, with 10 percent exchanging property with home owners in America.

However, what may appear to be a cheap holiday option can prove a false economy with nearly a quarter of house-swappers returning to find some damage to their  property.

Paul Spillane, head of home claims at Lloyds TSB Insurance, which commissioned the poll said, “House swapping looks set to be the trend of the year, and it’s easy to see why as this type of holiday caters for so many different tastes. To ensure people make the most of their holidays we’re urging them to alert their insurance first so they don’t jeopardize their cover.”

Eco fuel eco price

SCIENTISTS have developed a synthetic fuel that cost just 90 p. a gallon.

The hydrogen-based source produces no green-house gases and could help slash emission. Motorists will be able to drive 300 to 400 miles before refueling.

Cella Energy have been developing the new fuel, made of tiny microfibres, in secret at a lab near Oxford.  Bosses say it could be used in cars in several years. Team leader, Professor Stephen Bonnington, said, “In some senses hydrogen is the perfect fuel.”

Accidental hair for baldies

SCIENTISTS may have accidentally found a cure for baldness in a compound that blocks a hormone triggered by stress.

Researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles were experimenting on mice to find how stress affects the stomach. Mice that had lost fur because of age sprouted new growth after just five days of jabs with an anti-stress chemical.

UCLA Professor Million Mulugeta feels “it could lead to ways to treat human hair loss caused by stress and aging.” More research is needed.

Second homes lose allure

Fifty six percent of Britons with a second home in the Euro Zone are selling out this year because of the weak pound. Volatility between sterling and the euro has made it increasingly difficult to predict how much rental income they will receive, says a specialist broker.

Over a third who let out their second property said occupancy rates and rental income dropped during 2010. At the same time, many with property in Spain, Ireland and Greece have seen values drop. Stephan Huges of Currencies C.U. said, “For many the reality of owning a second home abroad has become intolerable, and what started off as a lifestyle aspiration and canny investment opportunity has became a financial millstone.”

British couples marrying abroad

ONE in five British couples is going overseas to get married.

More than 57,000 newlyweds got hitched in the sun last year and they paid an average £6,585–around a third of the typical £20,000 needed for a UK wedding. Knot abroad has soared by 27 percent while weddings in Britain have fallen by 7 percent.

Only one in 12 couples told researchers Mintel they were worried about upsetting family or friends by holding the ceremony overseas. Analyst Tom Rees said, “The lower cost of an overseas wedding is an important factor for many. Plus there’s the desire to do something different, seek out better weather and avoid overblown occasions and too many guests.”

But as couples save on the wedding they are increasingly splurging on extended honeymoons. A third are opting for four weeks or more, spending an average £4,113, says holiday firm travelmatch.co.uk. Twenty years ago the typical honeymoon lasted a week and a half and cost £550.

A brainy reason to learn Thai

SPEAKING two languages wards off Alzheimer’s and helps to keep the brain young, experts claim.

People who are bilingual force their brain to do unusual somersaults which make it stronger. A new study found that bilingual Alzheimer’s patients had developed the disease years after those who spoke just one language.

Professor Ellen Bialystock of Canada’s York University in Toronto looked at 200 Alzheimer’s patients. Half were bilingual, including immigrants who spoke in two languages–mostly Yiddish, Polish, Italian, Hungarian and French. While monolingual patients tended to develop the disease in their 70s,  bilingual patients often remained symptom-free into their 80s.

Speaking at the American Association for Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C., Dr. Bialystock said, “Being bilingual has certain cognitive benefits and boosts the performance of the brain.” She added, “It won’t stop you getting Alzheimer’s, but bilinguals cope with the disease for longer.  Switching between languages is a stimulating activity..”

Although people who spoke two languages every day stood to benefit most, continuing to practise a language learned at school might also have an effect. Results suggested bilingualism might actually cause physical changes in the brain, she opined.

Professor Judith Kroll from Pennsylvania State University in the US said the multi-tasking element of being bilingual appeared to fortify the brain. She said, ”The bottom line is that bilingualism is good for you.”

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LONDON has surpassed New York, Tokyo  and Paris as the world’s highest-grossing shopping city.

The British capital, which boasts more big name stores than any other, scored retail sales of £62.4 billion in 2010. This compares with £61.4 billion for Tokyo, £47 billion for New York, and £46.6 billion for Paris. The figures were reported in a study of 22 worldwide shopping destinations by Britain’s Centre for Retail Research.

The study also found that consumers spent more in London than the combined totals of Los Angeles, Milan, Rome, Madrid and Berlin. London’s 26,000 stores include 138 of the world’s leading retail brands, compared with an average of 90 such brand-name stores elsewhere.

London attracts about 14.1 million overseas tourists, four million more than its nearest rival. It was also the top city for internet shopping, with £9.9 billion in sales last year.

 “The key to London’s success appears to be the quality and quantity of shops combined with revenue generated by the huge volume of tourists,” observed Chris  Simpson, marketing director of comparison Website Kelkoo, which commissioned the research.

One in 10 stays in the red

ONE in 10 Britons are permanently overdrawn and more than a third have dipped into the red at least once in the past year. Around 10 percent admit their current account is never in the black, and 37 percent  say they are either always overdrawn or have used their overdraft over the last 12 months, according to moneysupermarket.com.

Half of the 2,050 polled say they would cut back or dip into their savings to stop going in the red. Young people are the most likely to be in debt, with 46 percent of 20 to 29-years-olds overdrawing in the past year. Only 18 percent of those over 70 used their overdraft.

Moneysupermarket.com warned, “We can expect to see many more people living on their overdraft as costs continue to increase.”

Foreign lorry drivers face charges

FOREIGN lorry drivers are in to be charged up to £9 a day to use roads in Great Britain under radical plans agreed to by ministers. The move comes as the government seeks to calm public anger over high fuel prices.

Currently foreign drivers, numbering one in eight of all those on the road, have an advantage over British drivers in that they pay no road tax or other charges. This means they avoid about £300 million in levies each year, according to experts from Herriot Watt University in Edinburgh. Foreigners also benefit from cheaper fuel bought on the Continent.

New legislation will be needed for a national scheme to be introduced in 2014. European competition rules prevent that imposition of separate charges on EU citizens or firms coming to Britain.

Halting the flood of foreigners

BRITS are more scared about immigration than any other nation.

Halting the flood of foreigners is more important than reviving the economy or even defeating terrorism, said nearly a quarter of UK residents. About 59 percent of Brits feel “too many” foreigners live in their country, and 70 percent think Prime Minister David Cameron is not doing enough to tackle the problem of immigration.

In comparison, just 9 percent of Americans worry about immigration, 10 percent of Italians. It’s 9 percent in Germany, 8 percent among the French, 4 percent in Holland and only 3 percent in Spain.

The figures were revealed in a survey of people across Europe for the US German Marshall Fund, a Washington-based think tank.

Mobile phone hazard debunked

USING a mobile phone does not increase your risk of getting brain cancer, official statistics suggest.

There has been virtually no change in rates of the disease despite the fact the number of mobile phones in the UK has risen to about 70 million, according to researchers at the University of Manchester.

Analyzing data compiled by the Office for National Statistics on rates of newly diagnosed brain cancers in England between 1998 and 2007, the researchers found no significant change over the nine-year period.

Revealing the findings in the journal Bioelectromagnetics, lead researcher Dr. Frank de Vocht–an expert in occupational and environmental health–said it was unlikely that we are at the forefront of a cancer epidemic related to mobile phone use.

Holidays of a lifetime

TRAVEL expenses cost the average Brit about £160,000 in a lifetime. That includes about 120 holidays, according to a poll of 3,000 Brits conducted for Teletext Holidays.

Starting at age 18 and lasting for around 60 years, traveling expenses amount to an average of £2,750 a year. Brits spend about £860 per person for each trip, and take more than £530 in spending money.

Spokeswoman Victoria Sanders said, “An ageing population means we’re traveling for longer and we can fit much more of the world into a lifetime than ever before.”

E-mail gerd.treuhaft@btinternet.com

STICK THESE FLOWERS WHERE?

WHEN a 79-year-old man arrived at a Duke, Dorchester-based auction house, experts were not overwhelmed by the cardboard box in his arms. But when the pensioner opened the box they were stunned. They were looking at a Chinese Ming Dynasty vase valued at more than £1 million.

The 11.5-inch vase, which dates from between 1403 and 1424, is called a “moonflask” because of it curved moon-like shape. It was made during the reign of the Emperor Yongle, the third emperor of the Ming period. Guy Schwinge, from Duke’s, said, “It is amazing it has survived unscathed for almost 600 years.”

The vase will be auctioned in May.

2010 WAS FATAL YEAR.

LAST YEAR was one of the worst on record for natural disasters, leaving nearly 297,000 people dead, research for the United Nations found. 

The worst toll was the earthquake in Haiti a year ago which killed 222,000 people.   The summer heat wave in Russia was the second worst disaster, helping to cause the death of 55,736.

The  UN’s Margareta  Wahlstreom called the year one of the worst in decades in terms of the number of people killed and economic losses. The cost of 373 major disasters in 2010 reached £ 68 billion.

CLIMATE CHANGE SCEPTICS

THE number of climate change sceptics has almost doubled in four years, official research shows.

On the heels of successive freezing winters and a series of scandals over science’s credibility on the climate, one in four Britons are unconvinced that the world is warming. The figures suggest that a growing proportion of the public do not share the belief of politicians that climate change is an urgent challenge  requiring radical and expensive policies.

The survey, carried out by the Office for National Statistics, has plotted levels of acceptance of the theory of man-made global warning since 2006. In that year it found that 87 per cent of people were at least “fairly convinced” that climate change was happening. Last year that share dropped to 75 per cent. The unconvinced share rose from 12 per cent to 23 per cent.

The shift coincided with the Climate-gate fiasco which came after damaging emails from the University of East Anglia were leaked in November 2009, and the start of a very cold winter.

The latest polling carried out in August last year also showed an increasing reluctance to take personal steps to tackle climate change. Just 46 per cent of respondents were ready to use their car less, and only 23 per cent were willing to fly less.

A PINT OF BEER  IS GOOD FOR YOU

DRINKING up to a pint of beer is good for your health and can reduce the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, according to Spanish doctors. Moderate consumption can even help people lose weight if combined with a healthy diet.

The infamous British beer gut was blamed by Spanish researchers on fatty food, lack of exercise and consuming huge quantities of beer.

Doctor Ramon Estruch and Rosa Lamuela tested 1,2249 men and women over 57 years old.

Those who accompanied a Mediterranean diet with up to a pint of beer not only did not put on weight but in some cases even lost weight. The doctors found beer provides the same health benefits attributed to moderate consumption of wine. Beer contains folic acid vitamins, iron and calcium which, the study claims, provide a protective effect on the cardiovascular system.

The subjects who regularly drank a moderate amount of beer were less likely to suffer from  diabetes and high blood pressure and had a lower body fat content.

The researchers from Barcelona and Madrid suggested women should drink two small glasses of beer a day while men should drink three–all combined with a healthy diet and exercise.

BRITS SURPASS FRENCH

BRITONS spent £ 8.6 billion on wine last year–more than was bought by the French.   The UK was the world’s largest importer of wine as consumption rose 1.1 per cent. They uncorked more than 1.7 billion bottles at a average price of £ 5,21 each.

Fizzy wines soared 161 per cent, according to figures from international Wine and Spirit Research.

US MAP FETCHES £200,000

A MAP of NORTH AMERICA has been bought by a London-based rare book shop for £ 203,150.

Daniel Crouch Rare Books in Chelsea acquired the hand-painted map from the 17th century. It was discovered in a Scottish attic. Richard Kay, of Auction House Lawrences, said, “New York is shown on the map and at the time it was probably little more than a large village.”

E-mail gerd.treuhaft@btinternet.com

CHURCHILL’S LAST BITE

ROLLS ELECTRIFIED
ROLLS ROYCE is considering producing its first electric limo.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, chief executive officer of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said a luxury eco friendly car for the super rich could be on the road before 2012 London Olympics. The CEO called an electric Roller a good idea as he unveiled a 171 % rise in luxury cars.
The firm’s German parent company, BMW, will supply 4,000 green cars for the 2012 games. BMW also owns British-based MINI which has launched an electric model called the MINI-E

MAKE MONEY AND SHARE IT
BEING rich or well off triggers the release of a hormone  called DHEAS (or deydroeplanrosterone), which has been linked to longer life, say researchers from University College, London. But don’t squirrel it all away.
U.S. researchers have found that older people who were  helpful and generous to others lowered their risk of dying early by up to 60%, possibly because they were not saddled with as much guilt and stress.

BRITS TURN TO ISLAM
UP to 100,000 converts to Islam live in the UK, comprised mostly of white woman. The number has risen from about 60,000 in 2001, it was estimated by the Faith Matters organization.
The survey of 122 converts showed 56% were white Brits, with women making up 62%. The average age at conversion was 27. Most converts said their lives “lacked purpose” before converting.

WATCHING TV or playing computer games for long periods damages your heart regardless of how much you exercise, say scientists.
The risk of heart disease as well as premature death from any cause soared for those spending more than four hours a day glued to a screen, it was claimed.
Dr. Emmanuel Stamatakis of University College London’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health said, “Our analysis suggests that two or more hours of screen time each day may place someone at greater risk for a cardiac event.” The study was the first examine the association between screen time and heart attacks and found there was a 48% increased risk of death from any cause and about 125 % increased risk of cardiovascular events in those spending more than four hours in front of a screen.
The findings also apply to those in sedentary jobs. Risks were irrespective of factors such as smoking and even exercise.

STAND UP FOR LIFE
THE LESS time you spend sitting the longer your lifespan A U.S. study found that women who sat for more than six hours a day had a 37% increased risk of premature death compared to those who sat for three hours or less.
Sitting slows the metabolism which can eventually cause obesity. But getting up every half hour can dramatically reduce the bad effects, says Professor Stuart Biddle, an exercise psychologist at Loughborough University.

UK STRESS ALERT
AROUND one in seven Brits feel “extremely stressed.”
Almost one in five women and one in ten men reckon their stress levels are out of control.
Experts warn that the problem is elevating blood pressure which puts people at higher risk of stroke. A poor diet and lack of exercise also contribute.
Almost one fifth of Brits never exercise, according to the survey of 2,000 people conducted by the Stroke Association. Its corporate fundraising chief James Beeby said, “The research is incredibly worrying.”

E-mail gerd.treuhaft@btinternet.com

Author of ‘Goodbye Yesterday’

New Memory Pill
Scientists have developed a pill that helps stave off memory loss in middle and old age. Tests on mice have found it starts working in just ten days. The tablet contains a chemical that blocks production of a hormone which can damage brain cells. It slows the natural decline that makes people forget names, phone numbers and where they put their keys and their reading glasses.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh gave the chemical to older mice and found it boosted memory and puzzle-solving skills such as how to repeatedly find their way out of a maze. Tests on people are set to take place next year.
Study leader Professor Brian Walker said, “We are optimistic that our new compounds will be effective in humans.”

Eye Test Hope For Dementia
Scientists are developing an eye test that can detect Alzheimer’s years before any symptoms show. It follows the discovery that a toxic protein that builds up in the brain of dementia patients – triggering loss of memory and confusion- also accumulates in their eyes.
Success of such an effective test is several years away. It eventually could allow doctors to give drugs that slow the onset of the disease.

Britain To Be Europe’s Most Populace
Britain’s population will rise more quickly than any other country in Europe over the next 40 years, by which time it will be Europe’s most populous nation. According to a report from the Population Reference Bureau, the UK population will swell from 62.2 million to around 77 million by 2050 – an increase of 24 %. This will make it bigger than France, projected to be 70 million, and Germany, which is predicted to have 71.5 million citizens.
Europe in total will see its population dip from 739 million to 720 million because of low birth rates. But elsewhere population will increase inexorably, pushing the world total from 6.89 billion to 9.49 billion.
By 2050, India  will have the world’s largest popu-lation, even overtaking even China. The country, which hit one billion just a decade ago and  now has a population of 1.15 billion, is expected to reach 1.75 billion in 40 years–adding the equivalent of the entire  population of the European Union. China’s population will increase relatively modestly from 1.34 billion to 1.48 billion.

Drinking Alcohol
Two to three alcoholic drinks a week could cut the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, research suggests.
Regular drinkers are up to four times less likely to develop the crippling condition than  teetotalers, according to the study. Volunteers who did get the disease suffered  fewer symptoms if they drank moderately rather than not at all. Drinking may help because alcohol appears to reduce inflammation and also has a mild painkiller effect.
The study at the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Teaching Hospital is published in the journal Rheumatology.
Gender Pay-Gap Still Wide
Women aged 40 earn 27% less than  men the same age, and on average the gender pay difference between sexes is 16.4%, according to a report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
While younger employees under 30 have the lowest pay gap according to the report (How fair is Britain?), a major gap is not age but education. The report’s authors estimated that women with degrees would lose only 4% of their earnings as a result of having a family, but mothers with no qualifications would face a 58% loss.

Ugly British Tourists
British men have been voted the world’s ugliest tourists–lambasted for their drinking, swearing and beer bellies.
Of 1,363 people who voted in the Real Holiday Reports  poll, based on physical appearance and behaviour, 242  people branded British men top of the  slobs.
Last month British women topped a similar survey to find the least attractive tourists. Gary Hewett, who runs the website said , “It’s their overall behaviour which obviously leaves a lot to be desired.”

Tourist Boom At Buckingham Palace
A bumper year for tourists at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle  has given the Queen an extra £2.35 million to spend on repairing the royal residence.
Buckingham Palace enjoyed its best summer opening for 16 years, attracting 413,000 paying visitors during the 67 day season. That was just 7,000 short of the record 1994 total.
Buckingham Palace, which served 46,000 cups of tea at its new café, also won two major travel awards. Trust director Jonathan Marsden said, “We are delighted the number of Palace visitors is growing.” The Palace first opened its doors to the public in 1993 to help  pay for repairs to Windsor Castle after it was devastated by fire in 1992.

Don’t Wink And Drive
Distracted drivers who flirt at the wheel with other motorists have caused almost one million crashes, according to one poll. The findings indicate that 812,000 of Britain’s 20.3 million male motorists have had a prang while flirting. On the distaff side, 164,000 of the 16.4 million women drivers crashed in similar circumstances.
A larger proportion have had near misses – equivalent to more than 5 million close shaves due to “wandering eyes.”  Elwynch Gedrych of insurer Diamond, which commissioned the poll of 3,000 motorists, said “Drivers need to be mindful not to let the handsome man or pretty woman take their minds off the road ahead.”
The research revealed that 46% of men and 36% of women flirt while at the wheel.

All-Seeing Gatso Woe
A speed camera which can spot five motoring offences at the same time is heading for Britain.
As well as catching speeders, the Super-Gasto can tell if a driver is wearing a seatbelt, spot tailgating and detect cars with out-of-date tax discs and no insurance.
The EU funded, trailer-mounted Asset Camera will be rolled out in 2013.

Brits are 71% Christian
More than seven out of ten people in Britain have described themselves as ’Christian’, according to new research; nearly eight in ten say they have faith, The first Office for National Statistics household survey recorded Christianity at 71.4%.

More Foreign Workers In Britain
The number of foreigners working in Britain has hit an all-time high despite the fragile state of the recovery.
This summer the total topped 2.4 million for the first time after thousands arrived from abroad in the spring. Some were Poles and other Eastern Europeans who have began returning to the UK. The number of Eastern European workers also reached a record of 551,000. This means the workforce of foreigners has surged by more than a million in only seven years.

Britain Highly Admired
Britain is the fourth ‘most admired’ country in the world after America, France and Germany, a study said last week.
The UK scored well on vibrant city life culture and historic attractions. The country’s welcome was the 13th warmest of 50 countries studied and its natural beauty 23rd.  Visit Britain boss Sandie Dawe said, “The result is a testament of the enduring appeal of Britain.” Compilers of the Anhalt GFK  Roper Nation Brands Index SM quizzed 20,000 adults.  Japan, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Australia and Sweden made up the rest of the top ten.

Coffee Cuts Cancer Risk
Drinking coffee may protect against mouth and throat cancers, research suggests. Four or more cups of coffee a day can reduce the combined risk of both diseases by 39%, according to Dr. Mia Hashibe, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. “Our results have important public health implications that need to be further addressed,” she noted.

Tea for the Heart
Drinking two or three extra cups of tea a day could drastically reduce your risk of heart disease.
Tea–green or black–increases the body’s intake of health-boosting flavonoids and cuts the danger of heart disease by 11% according to new research. Both varieties are packed with antioxidants which occur naturally in a number of foods, but are particularly potent in tea—offering resistance against harmful molecules which  accumulate in the body and damage cells.
A number of studies have already linked tea’s healthy antioxidant properties and high flavonoid content to cutting the risk of some cancers as well as heart disease.
One cup of tea contains 150-200 mg of flavonoids, and drinking two provides as many antioxidants as eating five portions of vegetables or two apples.
The review, published by Australian researchers, shows that the flavonoid content of black tea is equal to that of green tea.
Dr. Catherine Hood of the Tea Advisory Panel said, “This new review presents yet more evidence that consumption of tea decreases the risks of cardiovascular disease.”
Victoria Taylor, senior dietitian for the British Heart Foundation, said, “More research is still needed to confirm some of the findings in this review. Until then, it seems that moderate tea drinking is fine and many even be helpful in keeping your heart healthy. But it’s important to remember that a cuppa won’t protect you from the effects of an otherwise poor diet or lifestyle.”

NEW BRITISH PASSPORTS
The number of foreigners granted British passports more than doubled, the New Labour statistics have revealed.
More than 1.5 million got passports from 1997-2009 compared with 745,000 over the previous 13 years.
More than half were from Indian subcontinent and Africa. Migration watch chief Sir Andrew Green said “It is essential that the new Government gets a grip on numbers.”
More than four million foreign nationals now live in Britain. The UK is one of the most sought after destinations in Europe for immigrants. Only  Germany and Spain have a larger number of foreign citizens in contrast to Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia, which have less than one per cent of their population made up of foreign nationals.

WILL BRITAIN PULL OUT OF THE EU?
Nearly half of British voters want the country to quit the European Union, a shocking opinion revealed last month.
A YOUGOV survey found that 47 per cent of adults would vote in favour of the UK withdrawing from the EU if a referendum on the issue were held.
Paul Nuthall, chairman of the UK Independent Party said these people “just tell us what anybody with eyes to see  has known for ages: the people want out of the EU.”
Fifty-two per cent of voters aged between 40 and 49 backed withdrawal and among the over 60’s the figure rose to 67 per cent.  There was significant support  for quitting the EU among all three mainstream political parties.
The poll result was published as ministers released details of a new  referendum which is designed to stop any further power being handed over to Brussels.

SHRINKING WEEKEND
The average weekend has now shrank to just 39 hours and 42 minutes for office worker according to new research.
Longer hours and increasing workloads mean people don’t relax and unwind  until the early hours of Saturday. And they are worrying about work again from 5.30 pm on Sunday.
Almost 30 per cent never switch off and 30 per cent do something related to work even if only checking mail.
A spokesman for insurance from SheilasWheeles who commissioned the survey said “Work’s never just from nine to five”

MOTHERS ARE RETURNING TO WORK.
Around 100,000 mothers have  been forced back to work since the start of the credit crunch official figures revealed.
Since August 2007 – the month the credit crunch began the number of women who stay at home to look after their family has dropped by 97,000.  It has been dropping at an alarming rate with 20,000 deserting the home for the office between March and May this year.
But at the same time more than 1.4 million adults in Britain have never worked, a disturbing new official figures on the epidemic of benefits revealed last month.  Whitehall statistics showed at least 800,000 people aged between 16 and 25 excluding those in education, have frittered their lives away without employment.
Employment Minister Cris Grayling said “This is a shocking vast of human talent and a dreadful legacy that the current government has inherited.”

WAITING IN THE QUEUE
It takes an average of ten minutes to reach the front of a queue, European research revealed last month – twice as long as it did two years ago
Brits stand in line an average of three minutes – the third shortest time after Sweden and Denmark, the MYSTERY Shopping Providors Association found.
Post Office were worst with a 19 minute wait.

COFFEE LINKED TO CUT IN CANCER RISK
Drinking coffee may project against mouth and throat cancers research suggests. Four or more cups of coffee a day can reduce the combined risk of both diseases by 39 per cent, it is claimed.
Dr. MiaHashibe from the University of Utah Salt Lake City said, “Our results have important public health implications that need to be further addressed.”

THE COST OF RUNNING A FAMILY
The cost of running a family has soared to a whopping £ 29,200 a year.
A couple with two children now need to earn 6% more than they did last year just to get by because the living standard has rocketed.    An average family of four spend £ 402 a week on essentials, including £ 107 on food, £30 on clothes, £ 20 on petrol and £104 on leisure activities.   Travel costs have shot up 5% in the past year while running a car has jumped 28%.  The report by research group Joseph Rowntree Foundation revealed that in the past decade the cost of food has gone up by 37%, bus fare by 59% and council tax by 67%. Rowntree chief Julia Unwin said “This shows what ordinary members of the public think is needed not just to survive but to take part in society.
BRITAIN IS A NATION OF CHOCOHOLICS
Britains have turned to chocolate, to keep their spirits up during the recession. Research suggests that 90 per cent “regularly” eat chocolate, regarding it as a treat to reward themselves or lift their mood.
Figures also show that sales of chocolate are up 9.2 per cent in two years to reach £ 3.6 billion at a time of belt-tightening in households across the UK.
Retail analysts Mintel, which conducted the research, predicts sales will continue to grow to hit £ 4 billion by  2015.

RISE IN OBESITY SURGY
The number of seriously overweight patients having obesity surgery on the NHS multiplied nearly ninefold in five years. In 2003-04, there  were 430 Bariatric procedures –such as stomach-stapling, fitting a gastric band or bypass – but these increased to 4.246 in 2008-09, figures from th NHS Information Centre showed.

TIPS FOR THE DEAD
An exhibition at the British Museum this autumn is to explore ancient beliefs about the journey after death. It has one of the most comprehensive collections about the journey after death and book of the dead manuscripts in the world, giving the deceased tips.

VEIL BAN BY BRITS
Two thirds of BRITS want to follow the French and ban burkas. A YOUGOV survey conducted for Five News, found 67% wanted burkas outlawed in public. And more than three quarters of those quizzed aged over 55 back the ban according to the survey. French MPs voted last month to outlaw the wearing of Islamic full face veils for hiding their faces.

LIVING BEYOND THE STATE PENSION
The number of pensioners will almost be a quarter of Britain’s population, over 65,  in 20 years time. Government figures revealed last week,  The number of people living beyond the state pension age will soar by five per cent – nearly six million people – by 2031, as the UK’s population profile grows rapidly older. In some areas, more than a third of everyone living there will be over 65.
Official population projections show that the number of over 65s will grow from just ll million in 2010 to almost 17 million in 2031. At the same time Bitain’s overall population will increase from around 62 million to more than 70 million.

SKIN “CURE FOR LIVERS”
BRITISH scientists have created liver cells from skin raising hopes for a cure for liver disease.
The Cambridge University team, took “master” stem cells in the skin and turned them into liver cells using chemicals.
Study leader Dr. Tamir Rashid said, “We can now learn more about the disease, test drugs and develop treatments. Our ultimate aim is to correct diseased liver cells back to patients that could cure liver disease and save tens of thousands of lives a year.. ”
Liver disease in Britain is the biggest cause of death due to the rise in obesity and binge drinking.

REFUSE  TO RETIRE
Wealthy Britons are leading the way in refusing to quit work when they reach retirement age.
Sixty per cent of British millionaires said they plan never to retire, according to a survey.
For those dubbed in “neverretirees”, work is now a hobby as they start businesses and take on new projects late in life.
The UK has more than 250,000 millionaires who are collectively worth £ 1.28 thrillion, research indicated last month. An estimated 234,317 people have assets worth more than £ 1 million excluding their main home, according to Cora Data Research UK. The average level of wealth is £ 4 million but a number of individuals have assets worth more than £ 30 million. Fifty five per cent of all UK millionaires are valued at between £ 1 million and £ 2 million.
E-mail: gerd.treuhaft@btinternet.com