Experiments show that labrador retriever's sense of smell can identify minute traces of chemicals circulating in human body Dogs can be trained to sniff out bowel cancer, even when the disease is in its early stages, researchers in Japan claim. In a series of experiments that involved sniffing the breath or stool samples of patients, a specially-trained labrador retriever proved nearly as good at identifying those with cancer as a conventional colonoscopy examination. The team, led by Hideto Sonoda at Fukuoka dental college hospital, said some dogs have such a keen sense of smell that they can detect minute traces of chemicals that appear to circulate in the bodies of people who have cancer. The finding builds on previous experiments in which researchers used dogs to sniff out cancers in the skin, lungs, bladder and ovaries. Writing in the journal Gut , the researchers describe how the eight-year-old dog was trained to distinguish between the smell of a patient with colorectal canc...
Duchess of Cornwall to play herself in episode of Radio 4 soap, with village still reeling from death of Nigel Pargetter As a dyed-in-the-wool countrywoman and hunting fan, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, has landed a cameo appearance in Radio 4's enduring soap, The Archers. A longtime "Archers addict", she has agreed to play herself in a forthcoming episode as the everyday story of country folk celebrates its 60th year. Part of royalty's role is to unite and soothe the country in times of crisis. And so the Duchess of Cornwall's impending visit is revealed with Ambridge still reeling from the death of stately-home toff Nigel Pargetter, felled by merciless scriptwriters last month in the quest for a record audience for its 60th anniversary episode. Listeners learned of her appearance tonight when Caroline Sterling, owner of the Grey Gables country house hotel, revealed plans for the special guest. The duchess will feature in the programme on 16 February in her role ...
Coalitions are the future, so reform is vital if they are to serve the voter and not the political classes 'England," Disraeli famously said, "does not love coalitions." The Westminster model is geared to single-party government. Yet the growth in support for third parties and the decline in the number of marginal seats mean that hung parliaments and coalition governments have become more likely. They will be even more likely if the alternative vote , a preferential electoral system likely to help the Liberal Democrats, the second choice of many voters is endorsed by voters in the forthcoming referendum. There have of course been peacetime coalitions before from 1918-22 under Lloyd George , and Ramsay MacDonald's national government in 1931 . But these coalitions differed from the 2010 version in that they were formed before general elections rather than after, and thus endorsed by the voters. Before the 2010 election, David Cameron warned that with a hung par...
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