Beetroot juice can improve your puff, potentially benefiting swimmers, singers, and mountaineers, research has shown.

In tests, drinking a single shot of the red juice allowed trained divers to hold their breath 11% longer.

Beetroot is known to boost levels of nitric oxide in the body, causing muscles to work more efficiently and demand less oxygen.

Previous research has shown that beetroot juice increases physical stamina.

Find out how beetroot helps boost sports performance

Concentrated beetroot shots are already used by top-level British athletes, including marathon runner Helen Decker and butterfly swimming champion Ian Hulme.

The new research was conducted by Swedish scientists on 12 healthy volunteers who were trained in breath-hold diving.

In the tests, the nine men and three women were either given a 70 millilitre shot of beetroot juice or an inactive placebo drink.

They were then asked to hold their breath after having a clip placed on their nose.

After drinking the beetroot, the volunteers were able to hold their breath for an average four minutes and 38 seconds. They managed four minutes 10 seconds after drinking the placebo - a difference of more than 11%.

SEE ALSO:

• Beetroot Could Protect Men From 'Bad Fats' In Burgers
• Could Beetroot Juice Lower Blood Pressure?
• Are Superfoods As Healthy As You Think?

The results appear in the journal Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology.

Dr Harald Engan, who led the experiment, said: "Apparently by enabling the body to reduce oxygen consumption, drinking concentrated beetroot juice has delivered significant extension of breath holding time.

"We are currently experimenting on if this may also be able to help climbers at high altitude and hope to report on the results soon."

Beetroot juice could also help opera singers and woodwind and brass instrument players, who often need to hold their breath for long periods, the researchers believe.

In the mood for flowers, but find the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2012 a little too mainstream?

Perhaps conceptual art book Not A Rose will float your petal boat.

At first glance, these images of flowers may appear traditional - but look harder and you’ll see they're a little different.

According to German artist Heide Hatry’s website, these are not innocent pretty flowers - but elegant, compelling, and yet grotesque sculptures created from the offal, sex organs, and other parts of animals.

On a mission to remind readers that flowers are really “the detached dead sex organs of living beings” Hatry's collection of exotic flowers is made entirely from meat.

"In Not a Rose you will experience contemporary art at its best: it is thinking through art," Hatry explains.

Click here to pre-order Not A Rose

Since the development of the contraceptive pill for women in 1960, scientists have so far failed to create the equivalent for men – until now.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh have come a step closer to developing a male contraceptive, after discovering a vital gene that prevents sperm from maturing.

The gene in question, called Katnal1, controls the cells that support and provide nutrients to developing sperm, helping them to mature in the testes. Scientists believe that if this gene is blocked, it could stop mature sperm ready for fertilisation being released from the testes.

This isn’t the first time scientists have tried to crack male contraceptives.

Researchers in China previously developed a ‘testosterone jab’ for men that temporarily blocks sperm production.

However, although trials of the pill were a success, there were concerns about the hormonal side-effects, which included loss of sex drive, acne and mood swings.

SEE ALSO: Should women stop taking the contraceptive pill to check they still fancy their partner?

Researchers claim this contraceptive approach wouldn’t have any long-term effects on a man’s sperm-making ability, as the testes would continue making sperm, but only ineffective, immature sperm would be released.

“The important thing is that the effects of such a drug would be reversible because Katnal1 only affects sperm cells in the later stages of development, so it would not hinder the early states of sperm production and the overall ability to produce sperm,” explained Dr Lee Smith from the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Reproductive Health, in the PloS Genetics journal.

“Although other research is being carried out into non-hormonal male contraceptives, identification of a gene that controls sperm production in the way Katnal1 does is a unique and significant step forward in our understanding of testis biology."

The Family Planning Association (FPA) welcomed the findings, saying: “This is an exciting development and we welcome as much research as possible into new ways for men to control their sexual health,” according to the Scotsman.

An advert that promotes Portuguese social-events website Vai Bater (‘go hit’) might have just taken the ‘Best Use Of Violence Against Women’ television commercial prize for 2012.

A beautiful woman (played by Playboy model Monica Sofia) can be seen snuggling up to her husband in bed, trying to distract him from his computer.

However, just we think he’s about to kiss her, the lovely looking young man, turns, headbutts her, and gets dressed in snazzy gear (cue shots of leopard-print briefs and an ultra-masculine belt being 'snapped' on).

Carefully, he tucks his unconscious wife into bed and heads off - presumably to enjoy the delights that Vai Bater has to offer, giving off the cool psychopathic vibe of Patrick Bateman.

According to Adweek’s resident Portugese expert, Nick Mrozowski, the attack is supposed to be a play on the site’s name.

"Vai Bater can translate literally to 'go hit,' but the name of the site is more likely a reference to a heartbeat, as in 'a sua coração vai bater,' or 'your heart will beat,' as in, these events are exciting … and maybe you'll find a better girlfriend there. So, the ad is a play on the double meaning."

In what is possibly the most morally problematic visual gag since advertisers used a misbehaving kid to advertise condoms, surely even a postmodern sense of humour doesn't allow for wife beating?

As more than one thousand boats muster on the River Thames this Sunday (June 3), a staggering 332 million photos will be taken of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant, according to research commissioned by Nikon.

In addition, one in five Brits are desperate to get their own photo of HRH on this once-in-a-lifetime weekend, as the Queen attends a variety of Jubilee events.

The survey of 1,421 UK adults also reveals that 76.3 million Jubilee-related photos will get shared on social networking sites on the day of the Pageant – 17% more than the 65 million royal wedding pictures.

And of the raft of Jubilee events taking place, the one Brits are most excited to see is the 1,000-boat flotilla on the Thames.

This photo opportunity beats the Queen waving from the balcony, the carriage procession, the Buckingham Palace concert, and appearances by the other Royals, even William and Kate.

Top Tips For Diamond Jubilee Photos

• Get there early and make sure you’re in position.
• Make sure your camera is fully charged
• Keep your camera ready in your hand.
• Make use of the whole long weekend for photo opps.
• Don’t be frightened to ask people to move to get a clearer view.
• Ask people to pose: they’ll love the attention!
• Try taking some video clips: sound plays a large part in events.
• Try and get a picture of the Queen.
• Don’t forget to take some crowd shots.
• Don't forget to get a picture of yourself there!

Jeremy Gilbert, Group Marketing Manager at Nikon UK, comments: “It seems the worldwide attention given to last year’s wedding has inspired the nation to take more interest than ever before in the royal family, leading to an even bigger sense of anticipation ahead of this milestone for the Queen.

"Photography has become so accessible that with such a momentous event on the horizon, it’s natural that everyone will want to capture their own memories of it.”

According to Nikon Pro Arthur Edwards, who's had three decades’ worth experience of photographing the Royal family, there's one vessel everyone will want to snap: “The Gloriana, a 90ft long barge that will be the largest rowed vessel in the country, will be the star of the show on Pageant day.

"It will lead the procession and will of course go at a rower’s pace."

"The great thing about it is that as it’s a low boat, spectators near City Hall and the Pool of London will be able to get a picture of Gloriana in the foreground, and the Spirit of Chartwell, carrying the Royal family, sailing up behind it.”

Find out the best place to snap pictures of the Pageant.

Abortions in the UK increased last year compared to 2010, "concerning" figures released by the department of health on Tuesday showed.

The statistics also show an increased number of repeat abortions, with over a third, 36%, having the procedure again, compared to 34% the previous year.

In 2011, 189,931 abortions were performed in England and Wales compared to 189,574 in 2010, a rise of 0.2% and and 7.7% more than in 2001, which saw 176,364 procedures performed.

Despite the rise in the number of terminations, the rate of under-16s having abortion fell, as did the number of abortions for those who do not live in England and Wales.

More than 2,000 terminations, 1% of the overall figure, were carried out because the child may have been handicapped.

146 abortions were carried out for women who were over 24 weeks pregnant.

Responding to the figures Tracey McNeill, Director UK and Europe at Marie Stopes International, said in a statement she was "concerned" by the rise in abortions.

McNeill said it was time to "radically change" post-abortion contraception provision to reduce terminations, adding:

“We would like to be able to check in with a woman at regular intervals after her abortion to see if she’s still using the contraception we provided her with, or if she’d like us to provide a different method.

“At the moment, the way the system works means we aren’t allowed to do that, which I think directly correlates with the large number of repeat abortions we see in this country.”

Darinka Aleksic, Campaign Co-ordinator at Abortion Rights said the figures reflected a reduction in teen pregnancy, but noted it was important not to cut back on contraception.

"It's important to note that the abortion rate has remained stable for the third year in a row and has actually fallen slightly for under 16s and under 18s. This reflects the successful focus on reducing teen pregnancy – now at its lowest rate since 1969," she said in a statement to The Huffington Post UK.

"The government must now look at improving access to contraception for all age groups, including women in their 30s and 40s. This is the only sure way to reduce the number of repeat abortions taking place. Now is not the time to be cutting back on contraception and sexual health services."

Diane Abbott said in a statement: "I think these figures show just how dramatically the government has veered off course with its pursuit of trying to let anti-choice organisations take part in abortion counselling.

"There is work to be done to protect and educate young people, especially those that are vulnerable, and to provide the right kind of empowerment and contraception access in order to reduce repeat abortions. Although Britain’s repeat abortion rate is comparable to - or lower than - other Western countries, we need to provide the right access to support and contraception to reduce our rate of repeat abortions."

Anti-abortion group LIFE said the figures should cause concern, with spokesperson Michaela Aston saying in a statement: "We should be shocked and concerned by these latest statistics, especially given the apparent decline in overall conception rates in 2011, which means that the proportion of all pregnancies that end in abortion has risen considerably."

Marie Stope's McNeill has previously called for a change in abortion law, telling The Huffington Post UK last week that she did not think two signatures, saying she doesn’t think the 1967 Abortion Act needs to change now, but could “within two years” so to get an abortion women only need the signature of one doctor.

“I think there’s legitimate reasons to say [that]. If you require any other surgical or medical intervention you don’t require two signatures.”

For over 5,000 years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has claimed to be able to predict the state of your inner health (or ‘zheng’) simply by looking at your tongue.

The traditional method bases its results on the flow and balance of positive and negative energies in the body.

However, in the modern world (and with technology on our side) gadget geeks have come up with a contemporary way to check our health using the power of the tongue… by creating a smartphone app that does it all for us.

Combining ancient practices with modern medicine and advanced mobile technology researchers from the University of Missouri are developing computer software that enables users to take a snap of their tongue and have it analysed for any health issues.

“Knowing your zheng classification can serve as a pre-screening tool and help with preventive medicine,” said Dong Xu, the co-author of the latest study, reports Medical Daily.

What is your tongue trying to tell you about your health? Scroll down to find out...

The phone app aims to analyse the tongue’s colour, where it gets placed into a ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ category, which then pinpoints any possible underlying health conditions.

“Hot and cold zheng doesn’t refer directly to body temperature. Rather, it refers to a suite of symptoms associated with the state of the body as a whole," adds Xu.

So far, researchers have tested the app on 263 gastritis patients and 48 healthy people.

"As we continue to work on the software we hope to improve its ability. Eventually everyone will be able to use this tool at home using webcams or smartphone applications. That will allow them to monitor their zheng and get an early warning about possible ailments," adds co-author of the study, Ye Duan.

Worried about the state of your tongue? Discover what your tongue could reveal about your health...

A teenager who became an internet sensation after posting a video of herself covering her severe acne with make-up says she was overwhelmed by the kindness extended towards her by those who watched it.

Cassandra Bankson endured years of bullying over the acne which coats her face, neck, chest and back.

But the 19-year-old bravely decided to make a ten minute video, which she posted on YouTube, revealing how she is able to completely cover her spots using special make-up techniques.

Cassandra, of Danville, California, has seen her video viewed a colossal 7.5 million times, as self-conscious subscribers eagerly tune in to learn her secrets.

Scroll down for more pictures of Cassandra and to watch her video

The teenager opened the clip by confessing: “This is the most nerve-wracking thing I could do because it's my biggest insecurity.

"I am going to show you guys what I look like without makeup. It's awful."

Pointing to a made-up picture of her face, she adds: "Then I'm going to show you how I apply my foundation so that I can look like this."

SEE ALSO:

• Thyme Is A 'More Effective Acne Treatment Than Prescription Creams'
• Schoolgirl Found Hanged After Acne Caused Severe Depression

She then talks viewers through several stages of applying makeup - masking all her blemishes.

Now Cassandra has revealed how the experiment helped her come out of her shell and even begin a modelling career.

She told Barcroft Media: “I cried before I filmed the video and didn’t post it until four months after because I was so nervous about what people would think.

“My boyfriend told me: 'You’ve always wanted to help people. This is how you can do it; it’s your duty’.”

Once the video was posted, it took Cassandra another five months to check the comments.

“I thought the comments would be just as cruel as they were in school,” she said.

“I thought for one girl or one guy it would be worth it but I didn’t want to see the negativity. But I came back and I was overwhelmed by positivity.”

Most loved her bravery. One user on her channel said: “You do realise that even without a smidgeon of makeup on, you’re still beautiful, right?”

Cassandra’s video begins with the teenager applying anti-shine for her oily skin, before moving on to primer and foundation.

Next she uses a concealer followed by two types of makeup powder applied with a brush.

For the finishing touches she uses a highlighter, micro-finish fine powder and a spray.

Throughout the 10-minute routine she tips viewers on where to apply each type of makeup, concentrating on different areas of the face like the t-zone.

The end result sees Cassandra looking picture-perfect.

Now modelling, she says she used to refuse to leave her house because of her shame at having so much acne.

She even skipped classes at school to avoid bullying from other students.

But she saved her own blushes by learning her simple foundation techniques, which she shares to help others with spot problems.

“I wasn’t talking to friends and family,” she said. “I would do homework, play with my cats, and essentially learn how to put on makeup."

Cassandra added: "Makeup is a way for women to feel confident until they overcome whatever insecurities they have, so they can be beautiful with or without."

People who live longest tend to be those who look on the bright side of life, research has shown.

Scientists in the US who studied 243 centenarians found that, far from being mean-spirited and world weary, most were cheerful, outgoing and sociable.

The positive personality traits may in part be genetically based, the researchers believe.

The study was part of the Longevity Genes Project investigating more than 500 Ashkenazi Jews over the age of 95, and 700 of their offspring.

Ashkenazi Jews, from eastern Europe, are good candidates for gene studies because they are genetically similar.

Lead scientist Nir Barzilai, director of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Institute for Aging Research in New York, said: "When I started working with centenarians, I thought we'd find that they survived so long in part because they were mean and ornery. But when we assessed the personalities of these 243 centenarians, we found qualities that clearly reflect a positive attitude towards life.

"Most were outgoing, optimistic and easygoing. They considered laughter an important part of life and had a large social network. They expressed emotions openly rather than bottling them up."

SEE ALSO:

• Women Hit Their Prime At 35
• People Most Content At 38
• Optimism 'Wards Off Heart Disease'

Tests showed that the study group, who had an average age of 97.6 and were three-quarters women, had lower "neurotic personality" scores than a representative sample of the general population. They also had higher scores for being conscientious.

The findings were published in the latest online edition of the journal Aging.

Dr Barzilai added: "Some evidence indicates that personality can change between the ages of 70 and 100, so we don't know whether our centenarians have maintained their personality traits across their entire lifespans.

"Nevertheless, our findings suggest that centenarians share particular personality traits and that genetically based aspects of personality may play an important role in achieving both good health and exceptional longevity."

Previous research on longevity has focused on physiological advantages that may help people live longer, such as naturally high levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) or "good" cholesterol.

People who suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) could be ‘cured’ with a pill designed to treat Alzheimer’s disease, claim a team of psychiatrics.

One manifestation of the condition includes compulsive buying, or being a ‘shopaholic’, which is an addiction to the ‘highs’ of purchasing new things. Although compulsive shopping may not always be taken as seriously as other psychiatric conditions, sufferers rack up thousands of pounds of debt as a result and it can lead to more serious mental health-related issues, such as depression and obsessive hoarding.

Scroll down to discover which celebrities suffer from OCD

Scientists from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, claim the memantine pill, also known as Ebixa (normally prescribed to help treat Alzheimer’s symptoms), could also treat those with OCD, as it successfully curbed impulsive spending urges during a series of clinical trials.

Researchers enlisted the help of nine OCD patients aged 19 to 59 who were given the memantine medication for eight weeks.

Before the trial began, the volunteers admitted to spending 38 hours a week shopping and 61% of their income on impulsive buys (mostly clothes).

After the eight-week trial period, volunteers reported a decrease in their spending urges, compulsive thoughts and behavioural traits.

Common Strep Bacteria Linked To Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

“Hours spent shopping per week and money spent shopping both decreased significantly, with no side effects," a spokesperson from the study said, reports the Daily Mail.

Researchers believe that the pill reacts to the brain chemical, known as glutamate, which is closely linked to OCD behaviour.

“Our findings suggest that pharmacologic manipulation of the glutamate system may target the impulsive behaviour underlying compulsive buying.”

According to OCD-UK, obsessive-compulsive disorder is considered the fourth most common mental illness in the world. In the UK alone, around 1.2% of the population suffers from OCD (12 in every 1,000); meaning around 741,504 people are living with the condition everyday.

There are four different types of OCD, which include checking, contamination, hoarding and ruminations (intrusive thoughts).

Checking
The extreme need to check is the compulsion, with the common checking routine including gas or electric stoves, water taps, door locks, windows, car doors, people (calling them constantly in fear of harm happening to them), re-reading words in a book over and over again and seeking constant reassurance.

Contamination
The need to clean and wash everything with the intense fear that something is contaminated and will cause harm or even death.
Common contamination fears include using public toilets, shaking hands, touching door knobs and handles, eating in public places, being in a crowd, avoiding red objects and stains (in fear of contracting HIV/AIDS from blood like stains) and excessive tooth brushing.

Hoarding
This is the inability to discard useless or worn out possessions as they fear that harm will occur if they throw things away. It’s also linked to extreme emotional attachment to items.

Ruminations
This is a term that often describes obsessional intrusive thoughts. These can be anything from prolonged thinking about a question that is unanswerable. The person will dwell on the time-consuming questions and feel constantly unsatisfied and appear detached.

A major study into the effect of cannabis consumption on multiple sclerosis (MS) patients has concluded the drug makes no difference to the disease’s progression.

The research was carried out by the Peninsula Medical School In Plymouth, as part of the biggest study of its kind, according to the BBC.

Scientists began investigating whether tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the active ingredients in cannabis, could accelerate the onset of disability, after previous studies had suggested cannabis could slow the advance of MS.

During an eight-year period, 493 volunteers took capsules of THC and were monitored as part of the CUPID (Cannabinoid Use In Progressive Inflammatory Brain Disease) study, which was presented today at the Association of British Neurologists annual meeting.

Lead researcher, Professor John Zajicek, told the BBC he was “disappointed’ the overall effect was not better.

"There's lots of evidence cannabis has a symptomatic effect - it makes people's pain, muscle stiffness and spasms better," he said.

"But what we were doing in this trial was to see if we could slow down the course of the disease.

"There are very, very few treatments for any neuro-degenerative disease, whether it's Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or progressive multiple sclerosis and we were very much hoping cannabinoid might slow down the progression of the disease as opposed to just ameliorating people's symptoms.

"I'm very disappointed - not for me - but for people with MS and I think it's desperately important that we try to find treatments that slow their progression down."

The results of a new Cedars-Sinai study suggest that an overgrowth of bacteria in the gut has been 'definitively linked' to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

The study, published in the current issue of Digestive Diseases and Sciences, examined samples of patients' small bowel cultures to confirm the presence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth - or SIBO - in more than 320 subjects.

This is the first study to use this "gold standard" method of connecting bacteria to the cause of the disease, one of the most common digestive conditions in the UK. It's thought that 10%-20% of people experience IBS at some point, and is twice as common in women as in men.

In addition, the manufacturer of probiotic drink Symprove today claimed a daily £2 dose could provide relief for IBS sufferers. Health drink manufacturers claim probiotic bacteria play an important role in digestive health and the immune system - although this has yet to be proved.

A study involving 186 people, aged 18 to 65, who had been diagnosed with moderate to severe IBS, found that two-thirds of patients given the drink reported a reduction in the severity of their symptoms at the end of a 12-week trial.

According the Daily Mail, more than one in five receiving the probiotic drink saw their symptoms fall from the severe category to mild.

Previous studies that have explored the role bacteria plays in the disease, have used breath tests to detect methane - a byproduct of bacterial fermentation in the gut. However, this study was the first to make the link using bacterial cultures.

Scroll down to find out if you have IBS

In patients with IBS, more than a third also were diagnosed with small intestine bacterial overgrowth, compared to fewer than 10% of those without the disorder. Of those with diarrhoea-predominant IBS, 60% also had bacterial overgrowth.

"While we found compelling evidence in the past that bacterial overgrowth is a contributing cause of IBS, making this link through bacterial cultures is the gold standard of diagnosis," said Mark Pimentel, director of the Cedars-Sinai GI Motility Program and an author of the study, in a statement.

"This clear evidence of the role bacteria play in the disease underscores our clinical trial findings, which show that antibiotics are a successful treatment for IBS."

Patients with IBS suffer symptoms that can include painful bloating, constipation and diarrhoea.

Research suggests half of women trying to lose weight could be suffering from ‘diet brain’.

Attempts to drop a dress-size can lead to mood swings, and can negatively affect a person's close relationships and performance at work, according to a new survey by the New Atkins Diet.

And research suggests such incidences of 'diet brain' may be affecting half of women looking to lose weight.

In addition, the weight-loss company found that half of the 2,000 women surveyed said the mental strain of going on a diet was a real barrier to reaching their desired weight goal.

Nutritionist Linda O’Byrne said in a statement: “If you find yourself suffering from ‘diet brain’ then the reality is that you are not slimming down correctly and you need to take action to alter the situation.

“It is very worrying to discover that dieting has affected large numbers of women’s relationships and even their jobs, this is not how it should be.”

Hidden Truths Of ‘Diet Brain’

• Four out of ten women believe their marriage or relationship has suffered negatively because of ‘Diet Brain’
• A quarter of women insist their performance at work has been affected by the condition, with this number rising to four out of ten of under-25s
• One in three admit ‘Diet Brain’ left them feeling obsessed with losing weight and what they can and cannot eat
• More than half (55%) said they ended up feeling depressed because they were desperate to be slimmer - this figure rose to two thirds of women over 55
• Brighton is the ‘Diet Brain’ capital of the UK, where six out of ten women insist they have suffered with the condition while they tried to lose weight

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that more than one human organ is illegally purchased every hour worldwide.

Trade has risen to worrying heights warns WHO, despite a small decline in illegal organ donation in 2006-2007, and the organisation estimate that more than 10,000 black market operations (using illegally purchased organs) take place every year, reports the Guardian.

Kidneys are currently the most in-demand organ (accounting for 75% of overall trade), with demand believed to be fuelled by the rise in diet-related conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems.

Figures released by WHO show that of the 106,879 organs transplanted (legally and illegally) in 2010, around 73,179 were kidneys.

SEE ALSO:

• Facebook Organ Donation: Do You Like Your Friends Enough To Save Them?
• Teenage Organ Donor Saves Eight Lives
• Patients Should Be Kept Alive Solely For Organ Donation

High levels of poverty across the world mean there is never a shortage of volunteers, with some illegal traders luring donors with the promise of up to £5,000 in exchange of a kidney via a speedy operation – all in just 10 days.

It’s estimated that black market traders pay cash-strapped donors around £3,200 for their kidney – and sell them on for approximately £128,000 to wealthy patients in need.

Responding to the worrying statistics, Luc Noel from WHO, told The Guardian: “There is a growing need for transplants and big profits to be made.

"It's ever growing, it's a constant struggle. The stakes are so big, the profit that can be made so huge, that the temptation is out there."

Noel also believes the lack of law enforcement in certain countries is making it easy for traders to exploit poor people.

"While commercial transplantation is now forbidden by law in China, that's difficult to enforce; there's been a resurgence there in the last two or three years.

"Foreigners from the Middle East, Asia and sometimes Europe come and are paying $100,000 (£63,000) to $200,000 (£127,000) for a transplant. Often they are Chinese expats or patients of Chinese descent."

An NHS guidebook for soon-to-be parents has removed the word ‘dad’ following a complaint claiming it “was not inclusive of people in same-sex relationships”.

The Ready Steady Baby book, a free guide handed out to expectant parents for the past 14-years, has written out ‘dad’ and replaced it with the gender-neutral phrase ‘partner’ in response to the complaint.

The 220-page guidebook offers advice on pregnancy, labour, birth and parenting tips up until the baby’s first year. The NHS hands out more than 700,000 copies each year.

The politically correct move has angered family campaigners, who believe the removal of ‘dad’ undermines traditional family set-ups.

SEE ALSO:

• Why There Are 20,000 ‘Pregnant’ Men In Britain...
• Free Parenting Classes To Be Offered To Families
• Fatherhood 'Makes Men Less Frisky'

Norman Wells from the Family Education Trust, said in a statement: “This is all part of an agenda to present as natural a type of family that cannot be created by natural means.

“The NHS should not be squandering tax payers’ money to advance the cause of a minority interest group.

“No matter how much effort is made to present positive images of families headed by same-sex couples, the fact remains it takes a man and a woman to create a child.”

Ann-Marie McKimm, Founder of Yano.co.uk, told HuffPost Lifestyle: “I totally agree that this is a waste of taxpayers money. When the guide needs re-printing then that is the time to use more non-specific references to parents and up-date it if necessary.

"But by dropping dad they could also be insulting two men that are becoming parents to a surrogates baby and will both be 'dads'. This is political correctness gone crazy. Good old common sense needs to come into play here.”

However, NHS health Scotland, which is behind the booklet, defends the revision, saying in a statement, reports the Telegraph: "It is standard practice to review publications on a yearly basis, if not more often.

"At the time this complaint was received the Ready Steady Baby text had just been through its annual review, changes made and the new edition was printed in December 2011.

"The review process identified the need to use language that was more inclusive, particularly in relation to same sex partnerships.”

Men may have higher rates of bowel cancer because of a female genetic fault, research suggests.

Scientists identified an alteration on the female X chromosome, one of the packages of DNA that determine gender, associated with bowel cancer.

The fault appears to be involved in the development of cancer in both men and women. But it may have a bigger effect in men, say the researchers.

The defective X chromosome region is linked to reduced activity of a gene called SHROOM2 that controls how cells develop and take shape.

Women have two X chromosomes, so if one has the fault the other normally functioning version may mask it.

But this would not apply to men, who have just one X chromosome paired with a male Y chromosome.

Professor Richard Houlston, one of the scientists from from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, said: "To our knowledge, this is the first time that anyone has shown that one of the sex chromosomes is involved in the development of a cancer that can afflict both sexes. This may help explain why bowel cancer is slightly more common in men. Ultimately, it could also help us target screening to those who are more at risk of the disease."

The study, reported in the journal Nature Genetics, also uncovered two other genetic risk variants for bowel cancer, bringing the known total to 20.

The scientists analysed data from five international studies looking for single letter changes in the genetic code (single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs) linked to bowel cancer.

A second variant identified was in a gene called CDKN1A which governs a number of tumour suppressing biological pathways.

The third affected a gene called POLD3 which influences two pathways that repair DNA damage.

Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK affecting 41,000 men and women each year.

Dr Lesley Walker, from the charity Cancer Research UK which funded the study, said: "This research shows how a range of genes could be behaving in bowel cancer, potentially leading to new treatments for the disease."

Dentists may be deliberately misleading their patients about their NHS entitlements to prompt them to pay for private care, a watchdog has said.

Half a million patients a year may have unnecessarily paid to receive private dental treatment after receiving inaccurate information from their dentist about health service entitlements, an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) study found.

Patients are given insufficient information to make informed decisions about their choice of dentists and the treatments they receive, and the dental industry is not always working in their best interest, the report said.

The OFT, which enforces consumer protection law and competition law, has called for major changes to the dentistry market in the UK after the study also raised concerns about restrictions preventing patients from directly accessing dental care professionals, such as hygienists, without a referral from a dentist.

These restrictions are unjustified and likely to reduce patient choice and dampen competition, the OFT said.

John Fingleton, chief executive of the OFT, said: "Our study has raised significant concerns about the UK dentistry market which need to be tackled quickly in the interest of patients.

"All too often patients lack access to the information they need, for example when choosing a dentist or when getting dental treatment.

"We also unearthed evidence that some patients may be receiving deliberately inaccurate information about their entitlement to NHS dental treatment, and we expect to see robust action taken against such potential misconduct by dentists."

"This study has also highlighted that the current NHS dental contract in England may well not be working in the best interests of patients, and that regulations unjustifiably restrict patients from getting direct access to dental care professionals like hygienists.

"Reform in both these areas is needed without delay."

It is difficult for new dental practices to be established and successful practices offering a high quality of service to NHS patients are prevented from expanding because of the structure of NHS dental contracts in England, the report said.

The majority of contracts are not time-limited, and only a small volume of new contracts are put out to tender each year, the OFT said.

The watchdog also expressed concern about the complexity of the complaints process for patients and instances of dentists pressuring patients to buy dental payment plans.

The British Dental Association has since agreed to develop a robust and effective code of practice covering the sale of such plans.

The OFT said it is calling on NHS commissioning bodies, the General Dental Council and the Care Quality Commission to enforce existing rules requiring dentists and dental practices to provide timely, clear and accurate information to patients about prices and available dental treatments.

It called for the General Dental Council to remove restrictions preventing patients from making appointments to see dental hygienists, dental therapists and clinical dental technicians directly as soon as possible.

It also urged the Department of Health to redesign the NHS dental contract so new dental practices could enter the market and successful practices could expand, saying it was not convinced indefinite contracts to supply NHS dentistry are in the best interests of patients.

The complaints system should be made simpler and less time-consuming for patients and dentists to resolve grievances, the report added.

Health Minister Lord Howe said: "We welcome this study which has found that the vast majority of patients are happy with their dental treatment, and that the vast majority of dentists behave ethically.

"However, denying patients care on the basis of misinformation is a very serious matter. Any dentist that does this risks breaching their contract and we would expect the local NHS to take action.

"Since May 2010 an extra one million people are now seeing an NHS dentist, and we are strongly committed to increasing the skill mix, making sure patients can see the right dental professional at the right time.

"This is why we support the study's finding that patients should be able to have direct access to the appropriate dental care professional.

"We are currently piloting elements needed to design a new dental contract. These pilots will help establish a better basis for a system where patients can see the right dental professional when they need to."

Dr Susie Sanderson, chair of the BDA's executive board, said: "Research by bodies including the regulator of dentistry, the General Dental Council, confirms that the vast majority of patients are happy with the care they receive. The Office of Fair Trading's own research also confirms this to be the case.

"Where patients do have concerns about their care, it is clearly important that they have an effective complaints process. This is helpful for dentists and patients alike and dentists support the goal of making the process as simple as possible.

"The delivery of effective dental care is all about good communication between dentists and patients. That communication will not be enhanced by the OFT's headline-grabbing approach to publicising this report. That it has chosen to ignore what it knows about patient satisfaction and instead focus on a very small number of cases where it believes it has identified problems is disappointing.

"This report treats dentistry purely as a market, and dental care as a commodity. In doing so, it has taken a simplistic view of dental care that fails to take into account the huge sums of money dentists invest in surgeries and ignores the unique role in screening and diagnosis that dentists are trained to perform.

"Dentistry is not a commodity; it's the delivery of healthcare to real patients. Failing to understand that serves neither dentists nor patients well.

"Also crucial is the development of a new dental contract which is already under way in England. In piloting and designing those new arrangements Government must ensure that it provides clarity about what the NHS offers and properly supports practitioners in providing the kind of modern, preventive care that our patients deserve."

Fewer than a third of the most senior jobs in the UK are held by women, according to new figures.

Women occupy on average almost 31% of top jobs across 11 sectors, research by BBC News has shown, including business, politics and policing.

The armed forces and judiciary have the fewest women in top posts while secondary education have the most at more than a third, or 36.7%.

According to the findings, women represent 1.3% of brigadiers or their equivalent and above across the Army, Navy and RAF; 13.2% of the most senior judges; 14.2% of university vice-chancellors; 16.6% of the most senior staff in the police; and 34.7% of the senior civil service.

Women are most strongly represented in secondary education, where they make up 36.7% of headteachers, and in public appointments, where they account for 36.4%, the analysis found.

The European Commission is considering new laws to get more women into top management jobs and has held a public consultation aimed at finding ways of increasing the number of women in top jobs, part of which includes mandatory quotas.

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding told the BBC it was "crystal clear" the issue needed to be addressed.

However Edwina Currie, the former Conservative health minister, told BBC Breakfast that she opposed quotas for women.

"The moment you start having special arrangements, the people who come through have not acquired the talents and the skills that they will need for the majority.

"I used to say in Parliament, for example, that people who came in on the all-women shortlists, most of them were absolutely useless. Most people can't remember who they were."

"I would love to see more women at the top in all sort of posts, and particularly things like judges, where it really does matter," she said.

"But I think the way forward is for us women to be as good as we can get and to go and bang on that door and say 'Actually, you are missing really good talent here'."

Twitter users have reacted angrily to Currie's opposition of women quotas for top posts, accusing her of being "condescending" towards the other women on the panel.

Some made reference to her affair with married former Prime Minister John Major, accusing the former Conservative Minister of being hypocritical.

Emer Timmons, president of BT Global Services UK, told the BBC: "Sometimes people still think they should be handed things - but they've just absolutely got to have more confidence in their abilities."

Barrister Cherie Blair backed quotas for women in the boardroom and Parliament in a speech last December.

She told the BBC: "The truth is that we have waited and waited and unless we do take special measures to look at the systemic reasons why women aren't making it to the top, we are never going to succeed."

More than half the British public suffers from a negative body image, an inquiry by MPs has heard.

The problem is so acute that girls as young as five now worry about their size and appearance, with children in danger of picking up their parents' body-related anxieties, their report said.

Cosmetic surgery rates have increased by nearly 20% since 2008 and the rise was said to be fuelled by advertising and "irresponsible" marketing ploys, the cross-party group of MPs was told.

According to Reflections on Body Image, co-authored by the MPs and health and education charity Central YMCA, negative body image was seen as an underlying cause of health and relationship problems, a key contributor to low self-esteem and a major barrier to participation in school and progression at work.

Appearance is also the greatest cause of bullying in schools, evidence suggested.

The report, published by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Body Image after a three-month public inquiry, identified a growing amount of evidence that body image dissatisfaction was on the increase, with the issue seen to be one affecting all of society regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, body size or shape.

Children and adolescents were seen to be more vulnerable to body image concerns however.

Around half of girls and up to one third of boys have dieted to lose weight and children and young people with body image dissatisfaction were less likely to engage in learning and participation in school, the report said.

Parents were identified as one of the main influences on children but by secondary school age, the peer group was seen to become a more important influence.

Meanwhile, the inquiry heard that health issues attributed to excess body weight may be overstated because body mass index, the measure commonly used, was seen to be an inaccurate way of classifying all individuals and their health risks.

And although being overweight or obese was associated with a range of health conditions, the inquiry received evidence challenging the notion that weight always entailed poor health.

The diet industry acknowledged the public had "unrealistic expectations" about weight loss, while critics argued there was no evidence diets work in the long term.

The inquiry, which took evidence from academics, the public, industry, charities and other experts, heard that:

• Getting rid of dieting could wipe out 70% of eating disorders
• More than 95% of dieters regain the weight they lost
• 1.6 million people in the UK suffer eating disorders
• Up to one in five cosmetic surgery patients could suffer from body dysmorphic disorder
• One in three men would sacrifice a year of life to achieve their ideal body
• One in five people have been victimised because of their weight

The report made a series of recommendations targeted at policy-makers, healthcare professionals, industry and the education sector designed to change public perceptions, attitudes and behavioural patterns.

These include compulsory body image and self-esteem lessons for primary and secondary schools, getting advertisers to commit to running campaigns that reflect consumer desire for "authenticity and diversity", and reframing public health messages in "weight-neutral" language.

It also called for a review of broadcast and editorial codes on reporting body-related issues, a review of the evidence base to support the long term efficacy and safety of diets and a separate code of regulations governing cosmetic surgery advertising.

Patients should be screened before undergoing cosmetic surgery and a review should be carried out into whether the Equality Act ought to be amended to include appearance-related discrimination, the recommendations said.

Central YMCA will launch a campaign on the issues in the autumn after consulting the public beforehand.

APPG chairwoman Jo Swinson MP said: "Body image dissatisfaction in the UK has reached an all-time high and the pressure to conform to an unattainable body ideal is wreaking havoc on the self-esteem of many people."

Central YMCA chief executive Rosi Prescott branded the report's findings shocking.

"It's clear that there's something seriously wrong in society when children as a young as five are worrying about their appearance, based on the messages they are seeing all around them," she said.

"Body image has become more important in our culture than health, and children are mimicking their parents' concerns about appearance.

"We all have a responsibility to act now to bring about the attitudinal and behavioural change that's necessary to prevent damage to future generations."

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons agreed a separate code of regulations should be drawn up governing cosmetic surgery advertising and called for an outright ban on adverts of this type in public places like billboards and public transport.

BAAPS also announced it was funding long-term research into psychological assessment of patients.

The finding that more than half of people have a negative body image comes from a study by the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England, to be published in full later this year.

Anyone wishing to submit their views on the report can visit www.bodyimage.org.uk

Women get hotter when they feel a stranger's touch - especially when the person making contact is a man, a study has shown.

Scientists measured a small but significant increase in the facial temperature of female volunteers.

A two-second touch on the face and chest, described as "high-intimate locations", had a bigger effect than touching arms and palms.

Physical contact also stimulated more warmth when it came from an experimenter of the opposite sex.

The 16 young participants, with an average age of 21, thought they were having their skin colour measured with a small flashing light device.

A thermal camera was used to take temperature readings from different areas of the face.

Across all conditions, social contact was found to cause an average shift in temperature of 0.1C.

Previous research has shown that face and body temperature increases during sexual arousal.

Fear and stress is also known to raise facial temperature. In adults, stress caused by lying or performing difficult mental tasks produces increases in skin temperature on the forehead and around the eyes.

Writing in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, the scientists led by Amanda Hahn, from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, said: "We find that tactile contact elevates facial temperature, even when touch is an incidental part of laboratory procedure.

"Whether the changes measured in this study are detectable by others is currently unknown. If such changes in facial temperature during social contact are detectable (by observers or the individual), they could act as social cues.

"Slight increases in facial skin redness are perceived as more attractive, so it may be the case that temperature changes impact perceived attractiveness, although whether or not the skin temperature changes in interactions such as those studied here lead to detectable changes in redness and attractiveness remains to be determined."