Warning issued over stress payouts to workers
Workers claiming compensation for stress must satisfy tough new rules laid down by the Court of Appeal yesterday that make it clear that no job is inherently dangerous to an employee's mental health. Judges overturned damages claims by three workers totalling nearly £200,000. (Independent, Times, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian)
Muslim pupil calls prime minister 'liar'
Tony Blair lost his composure briefly yesterday when he was called a "liar" by a Muslim schoolgirl. Addressing 1,500 pupils at a "politics youth day" at Westminster Central Hall, the prime minister said the Afghan people viewed British and American military intervention as a "liberation". (Daily Telegraph
Are science elite just too elitist?
Britain's most eminent scientific institution is facing a parliamentary inquiry amid claims that it discriminates against women and redbrick universities. MPs plan to question the Royal Society about why just 44 of its 1,200 members are women. (Times, Daily Telegraph)
Sunbeds double skin cancer risk
Sunbeds and tanning lamps may be causing thousands of cases of skin cancer every year, scientists from Dartmouth Medical School, New Hampshire say. Research in the United States has shown that people who have used artificial tanning devices are up to 2.5 times more likely to develop certain kinds of skin cancer than those who have never visited a tanning salon. (Times)
Pill to help reduce middle-age spread
A pill that helps middle-aged men lose their spread has been developed by scientists at Monash University, Melbourne. The drug, which speeds up the body's ability to break down stored fat, has shown promise during early trials. (Daily Telegraph)
Robot colony declares war
Scientists at the Magna science centre in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, let loose a colony of wheeled robots yesterday - five large "predators", with metal fangs, and six smaller "prey" - for the world's first investigation into how the fittest might survive and evolve, free from human intervention. (Independent)