The operator of the Tyne and Wear Metro is reviewing its ban on mobility scooter users travelling on the system without a helper. The ban was imposed after two accidents in which scooter owners crashed through train doors and onto tracks.
Children who attend daycare or playgroups cut their risk of the most common type of childhood leukaemia by around 30%, a study estimates. Researchers reviewed 14 studies involving nearly 20,000 children, of which 6,000 developed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). It is thought early infections may help the body fight off the disease. The University of California, Berkeley study will be presented to a leukaemia conference in London.
Scientists are to investigate whether eating chocolate can reduce the risk of heart disease in women with diabetes. Volunteers - postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes - will be asked to eat a bar of chocolate a day for a year.
A 18-year-old whose sight was failing has had his vision improved in a pioneering operation carried out by doctors at Moorfields Eye Hospital. The London researchers used gene therapy to regenerate the dying cells in Steven Howarth's right eye.
A disability charity has called for one in 10 newly built social housing units to be made suitable for wheelchairs.
Mobility scooter users have been banned from using the Tyne and Wear Metro unless they are with a helper after a man fell on to the track. They will have to be accompanied by a helper from Saturday 26th April 2008. The man's fall from his vehicle was the second mishap which prompted the move.
