London, Nov 17 : BioBeer might have been publicised as being capable of boosting life expectancy and avoiding illness, but it also has a rather ‘sour’ point—it tastes lousy.

BioBeer is a genetically modified beer, which was produced by student researchers for a competition in Texas that tests GM products.

It is brewed with a specific yeast that produces resveratrol, a chemical in red wine believed to protect against heart disease, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s.

London, November 17 : Eighteen-year-old Tippi Degre might have been called the real-life “African Mowgli” after extraordinary pictures showing her playing with an elephant, leopard, and ostrich appeared in the media last week, but it has now emerged that all those creatures were tame animals.

The elephant who appears with the little girl, currently a student of cinema at the Sorbonne in Paris, in the pictures was a veteran circus performer who had featured in films and commercials.

London, November 17 : Love letters written by King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn, who later became his second wife, will soon be made available to the public for the first time – in an online archive.

In the letters, penned in 1527, the second monarch of the Tudor House professes his love for his ‘mistress’ while still being married to Catherine of Aragon.

The NHS budget has doubled in the past five years, from £45bn to £90bn, the fastest growth in its history. While some NHS workers have enjoyed a pay bonanza, it has not been spread evenly. The biggest rises have gone to doctors, with senior GPs who run their own practices enjoying rises of 58 per cent on average in the three years from 2003 – an average income of £113,614.

The NHS bosses have been accused of “double standards” for getting huge pay hikes while frontline staff took an effective cut.

Researchers say in the British Medical Journal that guidelines on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) should be updated in light of the recent findings that older 'overlooked' treatments - using fiber, antispasmodic drugs, and peppermint oil - may end up being the best option for IBS patients.

The Times reports claim that introduction of 'presumed consent' for the donation of vital organs is to be rejected by the UK government's Organ Donation Taskforce, thereby aiming to give the recent reform of the existing system a chance to work. The taskforce was set up in 2007 to explore ways of boosting transplants across the UK.