A round-up of today's other stories in brief
FACE TRANSPLANT A SUCCESS:
French surgeons who carried out the first face transplant on a woman savaged by a dog have hailed the procedure a success.
A report on the woman's condition four months after the operation said she had regained the ability to chew food and her speech was improving.
Her new face, transplanted from a brain-dead woman, provided a better aesthetic outcome than any available from conventional grafting techniques.
However, an expert who describes the procedure as a "milestone" also warns of potential problems, since the technique requires life-long suppression of the immune system to prevent rejection.
The 38-year-old woman had a large part of her face ripped off in the horrific dog attack, losing her nose, lips and chin.
She was unable to speak or eat properly because of her injuries.
WATER ANGELS: A campaign to highlight poor water safety practices and improve public awareness of the factors leading to drowning has been undertaken by a family whose son died following a tragic drowning accident, writes Áine Kerr.
Since founding the charity, Water Angels, in memory of their two-and-half-year old Leon who died two years ago, parents Lynn and Marc Quinlan have worked to highlight the assumptions and mistakes made around water.
"First and foremost, people need to realise that it takes only five minutes for the lungs to fill with water.
"On finding someone in water the majority of people will try to perform CPR," said Lynn.
"This is the worst thing to do as you are administering oxygen into filled lungs so, therefore, the oxygen goes to the brain causing other organ damage and lessening the chances of survival for the individual," she said.
"Any person found in water should be turned on their side and let their lungs empty before any oxygen is given."
Having moved to Marbella in Spain before their son's death to open a restaurant, the family, who are originally from Meath, have grown critical of the failure of the Irish and Spanish authorities to advise the public on factors concerning water safety and to implement fencing laws.
On July 15th the family will host a Water Angels Summer Ball in Marbella in an effort to raise money to educate people on water safety measures.
The funds raised will be used to fund a short film on water safety which will be distributed in Ireland and Spain and to establish a helpline for families who encounter difficulties due to an accident in Spain.
See www.waterangels.org for more information on the summer ball or to find out about making a donation.
A NEED FOR FATHERS: British MPs are attempting to end the right of fertility clinics to refuse treatment to single women and lesbians.
Campaigners say a rule requiring "the need for a father" to be considered in IVF decisions is outdated discrimination and must be dropped.
Last year, the situation was branded "offensive" to unconventional families by the Commons science and technology select committee.
More than 50 MPs have now signed a Commons motion backing the move and the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales used a meeting with Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt last month to reinforce the demands.
Under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, clinics must make an assessment of the welfare of any child born as a result of fertility treatment before they provide any services.
Under the current law, clinics are required to consider "the need of the child for a father", and some clinics use this clause to refuse treatment to lesbians or single women wanting IVF to have a child.
Three million IVF births have occurred worldwide since the first "test tube" baby Louise Brown made her historic appearance in Britain 28 years ago.
NICOTINE FACTS: Women metabolise nicotine faster than men do, especially women who are taking oral contraceptives, according to a new report.
The researchers say this could affect women's smoking behaviour, as well as their response to nicotine-based quitting aids.
The rate of nicotine passage through the body was significantly higher for women (18.8 mL/min/kg) than for men (15.6 mL/min/kg), the investigators found.
The rate was also higher in women who were using oral contraceptives (22.5 mL/min/kg), compared with those who were not (17.6 mL/min/kg.)
By the same token, nicotine persisted in the body longer in men (132 minutes) than in women not taking oral contraceptives (118 minutes) and in women who were taking oral birth control (96 minutes).
The findings are reported in the journal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.