Berlin  - The lower the sun is in the sky, the less harmful its ultra violet rays are for the body's skin, according to Professor Hans Meffert writing in the German medical journal, Aktuelle Dermatologie.

The intensity of the ultra violet rays can be assessed by comparing the body with the length of the shadow cast by the sun, Meffert added.

Ultra violet rays pose a small risk to skin type II, which is common in the Northern Hemisphere, when your shadow is approximately a third longer than your body.

Berlin  - If a young child shows no interest in other people, this may be an early indication of autism, according to a German medical association.

Hamburg/Berlin  - Winter is almost over in the Northern Hemisphere and hay fever sufferers are already beginning to sneeze and sniffle.

About 10 million people in Germany are allergic to pollen, said the Association of German Allergists in Hamburg, northern Germany,.

Although most sufferers try to deal with the symptoms themselves, that can have potentially dangerous consequences.

Taipei  - Taiwan's Consumer Foundation recently warned consumers to avoid using disposable eating utensils because they may contain high levels of lead.

Coloured eating utensils, especially the yellow, orange and green ones, are particularly hazardous because of their high lead content.

The foundation issued the warning after checking the health hazard posed by 41 kinds of disposable eating utensils sold by shopping malls or used at fast-food outlets.

The samples included disposable bowls, spoons, drinking straws and utensils for stirring coffee. Of these, up to 14 per cent contained a high level of lead which was almost at Taiwan's permissible level of 100 parts per million (ppm).

Washington, March 8 : Michigan Technological University scientists have come up with a way to make a strain of E. coli glow under fluorescent light, a technique that may one day help track down all sorts of pathogens, and even prove beneficial in fight against breast cancer.

London, Mar 8 : Institute of Cancer Research scientists claim that they have found an enzyme which is responsible for cancer spread.

Cancer Cell journal reported that boffins have discovered a way to stop cancer spreading to other parts of the body after finding enzyme called LOX.

According to researchers, LOX is crucial in promoting metastasis.

Cancer metastasis, where the cancer spreads from its original location, is known to be responsible for 90percent of cancer-related deaths.

To reach the conclusion, researchers studied breast cancer in mice - but are confident that their findings will apply to humans with other cancer types too.