Body matters.

It's a boy A man's genetic make-up may play a role in whether he has sons or daughters, a study of hundreds of years of family trees suggests. Newcastle University researchers found that within families, boys with lots of brothers were more likely to have a higher number of sons themselves and those with lots of sisters were more likely to have lots of daughters. They looked at 927 family trees, with details on 556,387 people from North America and Europe, going back to 1600. The same link between sibling sex and offspring sex was not found for women. The precise way that genes can influence baby sex however, remains unproven. SMART SWIMMERS Men of higher intelligence tend to produce better quality sperm, UK research suggests. Researchers analysed data from former US soldiers who served during the Vietnam war era. They found that those who performed better on intelligence tests tended to have more - and more mobile - sperm. The study appears to support the idea that genes underlying intelligence may have other biological effects too. It's also thought that people with robust genes might be blessed with a biological "fitness factor" making them fit, healthy and smart. No show for tobacco The open display of tobacco in shops is to be banned in England and Wales, the UK government has announced. It's hoped that the display ban will reduce smoking. A UK government consultation on how to deter young people from smoking found the "overwhelming majority" of 100,000 responses backed the display ban. Countries such as Iceland and Canada that have removed tobacco displays, show that smoking prevalence among young people has fallen by up to10 per cent. Blister woes As if suffering from unsightly cold sores isn't enough, new research has just revealed that catching a cold sore also puts individuals at risk of Alzheimer's disease. The herpes virus behind cold sores is a major cause of the protein plaques that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer's, scientists have shown. On the plus side, the latest discovery by the University of Manchester team may mean antiviral drugs used to treat cold sores could also prevent dementia. LOOK AFTER THE KIDS More than 800,000 children die each year from burns, car crashes, falls, drowning, poisoning and other accidents, according to a UN report. Millions more suffer injuries that leave them disabled for life, said the joint report by two UN agencies, Unicef and the World Health Organisation. Most accidents happen in developing countries, with the problem most severe in Africa and South-East Asia. The report warns that simple prevention measures could halve the number of deaths.

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