Melbourne - Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has refuted claims by the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) that he owes it money from the previous three championship years.

"Formula One Administration Limited (FOA), the commercial rights holder of Formula One, wishes to clarify and correct inaccurate and misleading statements made to the media by FOTA," said Ecclestone in a statement.

Melbourne, Mar 27 : Dutch researchers have invented a TummyTub to give babies the feeling that they are in the womb, while they can simultaneously view their surroundings.

The tubs or buckets have gotten the approval of doctors, midwives, health visitors, and maternity hospitals across Europe, as they make bath time enjoyable.

"It helps to ease the transition from the comfort of the mothers' womb," News. com. au quoted the makers as saying.

Melbourne, Mar 27 : Britney Spears'' Australian fans might have to dish out 150 dollars each just to watch the star, who will only mime her popular numbers on stage.

Promoters in Australia are still in talks to lure Britney to perform in the country before the end of the year.

According to reports, Spears is requesting one million dollars per show for her first Australian tour.

And thus, Spears'' high fee and expensive production costs, along with the poor exchange rate, which means that tickets could start at around 120 dollars for the basic seats, and up to 200 dollars for premium seats.

Melbourne, Mar. 27 : A change of country for the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) could benefit Australian cricketers Brett Lee, Ryan Harris, Shaun Tait, Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh, all of whom are fighting to put their names in front of the national selectors ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup and the Ashes series.

Sydney, March 27 : Analyzing the venom of a platypus may help scientists design new pain killers in the future.

According to a report by ABC News, molecular biologist Camilla Whittington has been granted a Fulbright Scholarship to analyse the components of the venom, which can cause severe pain.

"Once we know which one causes pain, then people can start to work to understand how it does that and then develop novel pain killers," said Whittington, a PhD student at the University of Sydney.

Venom from snakes have already yielded treatments for heart and blood problems, but very little is known about venom from mammals.

The platypus is one of only five mammals that produce venom.