Minor manipulations of a mother's diet can hugely affect the lifespan of her children, suggests a new study of mice. "At the two extremes we looked at, the dietary changes increased the difference in lifespan by more than 50 per cent," says Susan Ozanne, who performed the research with Nicholas Hales at Cambridge University, UK. "In humans, this could equate to the difference between reaching 50 and living to be 75 years old," she says. The research joins existing evidence that maternal diets in humans can have a life-long impact. NewScientist

Fumes given off by cancer-causing chemicals used to make non-stick frying pans are killing hundreds of pet birds every year, environmentalists say. The Worldwide Fund for Nature says it is hearing reports that many US caged birds are being killed by the fumes. It says the chemicals, perfluorinated compounds, are also contaminating both people and wildlife with grave effects. The chemicals industry says it doubts that birds exposed to ordinary levels of the compounds could die from them. BBC

In the nineteenth century it allowed cartoonists to poke fun at portly old gents with throbbing big toes. Now, however, gout is no laughing matter for a growing band of much younger men and women. Rates of the incurable disease, once synonymous with outrageous, upper-class over-indulgence have more than doubled since the 1950s and experts are predicting a further surge as more people enjoy excessive lifestyles at an early age. While carrying too much weight greatly increases the risk of gout, shedding weight quickly can also spark the condition. Rapid action weight loss plans such as the Atkins diet, which cut out entire food groups, are already precipitating attacks. The Guardian

Farmed salmon contains far more toxic chemicals than wild salmon -- high enough to suggest that fish-eaters limit how much they eat, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. Reuters

Male sperm counts have fallen by almost a third since 1989, with factors such as drinking and obesity possibly to blame, according to a British study. AFP