News in brief

Grieve requests Kelly death files

David Kelly: The possibility of a full investigation into the death of weapons inspector David Kelly has come a step closer after Attorney General Dominic Grieve requested files relating to the post-mortem examination.

A spokeswoman confirmed on Thursday that the papers had arrived in his office.

There have been several calls for another probe by campaigners who reject Lord Hutton's conclusion that Dr Kelly's death was a suicide.

Dr Kelly's body was found near his home in July 2003 after he was identified as the source of a BBC story claiming the government "sexed up" its dossier on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction.

Protein 'key to fertility drop'

Fertility: Scientists have made a major step towards understanding why older women are more likely to produce abnormal eggs, increasing the risk of infertility, miscarriage and birth defects.

While researchers have long known that women having babies in their late thirties and forties posed an increased risk of disability due to eggs containing the wrong number of chromosomes, the underlying cause has not been known.

Research by Newcastle University published in the journal Current Biology yesterday has shed new light on why this happens.

The key is declining levels of proteins called Cohesins, which hold chromosomes together by entrapping them in a ring.