'Magnet boy' seems to attract metal objects
BRAZIL: An 11-year-old boy in Brazil's northeastern city of Mossoro is drawing attention with his purportedly magnet-like qualities.
The Globo TV network has broadcast images of Paulo David Amorim demonstrating how forks, knives, scissors, cooking pans, cameras and other metal objects seem drawn to his body and remain stuck on his chest, stomach and back.
The boy's father tells Globo that he decided to test his son after learning of a boy in Croatia with a similar ability. Junior Amorim says he was surprised to find "a fork and knife stuck to his body."
The youth says classmates call him "magnet boy."
Dr. Dix-Sept Rosado Sobrinho tells Globo it is the first time in his 30-year career that he has seen a case like this.
VIDEO: Courtesy Sky News and YouTube
Romance novels pose threat to women's emotional health
BRITAIN: It'S all innocent stuff: square-jawed boy meets doe-eyed girl, they fall in love, encounter a few rocky moments but ultimately seal their union with a kiss or a vague hint of sex.
Wholesome yarns like this form the heartbeat of romantic fiction, a genre that has been in existence since the mid-18th century and today sells by the bucketload.
But, according to a debate launched on Thursday by a medical journal in Britain, romantic novels are an invisible yet potent threat to women's sexual and emotional health.
A commentary blasts these formulaic books for failing to promote safe sex and encourage patience in achieving female orgasm - and for defining the success of a relationship as the ability to crank out babies.
"If readers start to believe the story that romantic fiction offers, then they store up trouble for themselves," says British author and relationship counsellor Susan Quilliam.
"Sometimes the kindest and wisest thing we can do for our clients is to encourage them to put down the books - and pick up reality."
Ms Quilliam, writing in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, says that, according to a survey, only 11.5 per cent of romantic novels mention condom use.
"And within these scenarios, the heroine typically rejected the idea because she wanted 'no barrier' between her and the hero," she notes.
Even the steamier offerings of romantic fiction are dismal failures when it comes to sexual health, she contends.
The typical bodice-ripper ends "with the heroine being rescued from danger by the hero, and then abandoning herself joyfully to a life of intercourse-driven orgasms and endless trouble-free pregnancies in order to cement their marital devotion."
In fairness, says Ms Quilliam, romantic fiction today has broadened its spectrum.
Standard characters such as the brutal count and apple-cheeked maid have been supplemented by single mums, sensitive men, partners who each have to juggle daily jobs or cope with addictions, disabilities and even domestic violence.
Even so, these books fail miserably when it comes to sexual pleasure and dealing with the ups-and-downs of relationships, she says.
"We want women to be aware of their own desires rather than be 'awakened'. We aim to reassure our female clients that their first time may not be utterly joyful and that they may not gain reliable orgasms through penetration, but that they themselves are none the less existentially valid and that with affection and good humour things can improve immensely.
"We warn of the stresses of pregnancy and child-rearing, and we discourage relentless baby-making as proof of a relationship's strength."
According to figures cited by Ms Quilliam, romance accounts for nearly half of all fiction bought, and some fans read up to 30 titles a month.
For all its popularity, the genre has only been rarely explored to see how influential it is on its readers, says Ms Quilliam, who suspects though that it could have massive clout.
"What we see in our consulting rooms is more likely to be informed by Mills and Boon than by the Family Planning Association," she says.
Average woman over-packs her holiday suitcase by 26 ITEMS...
BRITAIN: 'Just in case something happens' is a common refrain among women, while they pack their suitcase while going on a holiday.
Now a study has confirmed that female holidaymakers overpack their suitcases by almost double, says Daily Mail.
In the survey of 2,000 women by a travel insurance website, 77 per cent admit they like to pack extras of everything in case they cannot decide what to wear when abroad
The research revealed that a woman needs an average 34 items of clothing for a week-long break but packs 60 ‘just in case’. It simply means almost half of the contents of her suitcase will remain untouched, says the daily.
The survey also revealed 72 per cent of women always over-pack and a fifth have been faced with additional baggage costs – yet 42 per cent plan to shop for clothes while on their break.
Belly button harbours 1,400 strains of bacteria
US: Navel-gazing scientists have founf that there are 1,400 strains of bacteria lurking in human belly buttons.
North Carolina State University's Belly Button Biodiversity study even found 662 unrecognised strains - which could be unique new species, says Daily Mail.
Researchers took swabs from inside the navels of 95 volunteers. About 80 per cent of germs were identified as from 40 fairly common species of bacteria, however, several species discovered, such as Marimonas, have only been found in the ocean before.
The amount of belly button bacteria present on volunteers varied depending on how well they scrubbed their navels, microbiologists told the daily.
The team behind the project explained the reasoning behind the researching the belly button on their website.
They said they wanted to investigate navels because 'everybody has one, its what once connected us to our past.
'Yet, we barely notice it in our daily lives, to the point that few people actually wash theirs. Which is great for the bacteria
Neighbour’s cat ‘was microwaved’
BRITAIN: A woman was accused of killing her neighbour's kitten by putting it in a microwave.
Gina Robins, was charged with causing unnecessary suffering, said The Sun.
The pet apparently "exploded" after being shoved into the microwave the morning after Robins and her boyfriend were kicked out of a party, reported the tabloid. It suffered terrible injuries and died as a result.
The owner of the cat made a formal complaint and a case was brought by the RSPCA after the incident came to light.
A neighbour in Torquay earlier told the daily: "The kitten's owner walked into her kitchen and saw the kitten in the microwave and that it had exploded. She was devastated as she is a real cat lover.