Blonde women are more successful

BLONDE women may be traditionally labelled as fun-loving and less intelligent but a new Australian study reveals they earn seven percent more on average than women with other hair colours. They also marry wealthier men, who earn six percent more than the husbands of other women, the University of Queensland study revealed.

The study, which surveyed 13,000 women, found that the difference in pay remained the same even when factors such as education, height and education were removed.

No other hair colour had the same effect. The research, reported in journal Economics Letters, does not explain just why blondes earned more and have wealthier husbands.

But Dr David Johnston, who led the study, said: "Blonde women are often depicted as being more attractive than other women, but also less intelligent. "But it seems the association between blondes and beauty dominates any perception that they have low intelligence. "This could explain why the 'blondeness effect' is evident in the marriage market."

Olga Uskova, president of the International Blondes Association, said: "Blondes have wealthier husbands because we are more fun and outgoing, and men are more attracted to us. "Blondes also have a lot of confidence so we can date men who are powerful or important. "We also do better in the workplace because when we make a mistake we can say, 'Oh, sorry about that, it's because I'm blonde' and get away with it."

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Blood test 'spots breast cancer early' and may save hundreds of lives

A simple blood test that can detect early signs of breast cancer in women could save the lives of hundreds of patients a year, scientists believe. The test can spot tumours much earlier than traditional scans - meaning action can be taken to stop the cancer before it spreads.

The test - which is already available privately - could be in regular use on the Health Service within five years.

The test can pick up a cancer the size of a small seed before a woman has developed any symptoms. Normal screening checks using X-rays detect a tumour only once it is three of four times bigger, by which time it may have started to spread beyond the breast.

More than 45,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK every year.

The test, developed by Norwegian company Diagenic ASA, indicates a tumour is present by looking for raised levels of chemical ' markers' for cancer in blood.

It has been proven to be 75 per cent effective at detecting early cancer in a number of small trials published in the journal Breast Cancer Research.

In younger women, mammography can miss a quarter of cases, and its developers hope the blood test can pick up some of these.

The Diagenic BCtect test is being evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, and a trial involving 6,000 women at high risk of developing breast cancer is to start next year.

It is currently available at a private Harley Street clinic for 499 pounds. Dr James Mackay, an oncologist and researcher at University College London, said: 'This test will be particularly useful for younger women who are at risk of developing breast cancer. 'They tend to have denser breast material which mammograms cannot easily penetrate.

'What we are suggesting is that they have a mammogram and combine it with this test so that there is a greater chance of detection.'

Women who are found to have cancer by the test will be offered an MRI scan so the tumour can be located, biopsied and, if necessary, removed.

Experts say there have not been enough trials to be sure the test works as well as its makers believe. But if bigger trials are successful and the test is adopted by the NHS, it would be carried out every three years - the same period as for mammograms at the moment.

Dr Mackay said he would advise women at high risk of breast cancer to have the test, which is available at the London Breast Clinic, once a year.

Professor Kefah Mokbel, a consultant breast surgeon at London's St George's Hospital, said: 'We need more trials before this can be taken on by the NHS but it is an interesting development. 'The results so far are interesting and it would be an extremely useful advance which could be combined with a mammogram to find tumours at an early stage.'

Dr Fiona MacNeil, a breast surgeon at London's Marsden Hospital, said: 'The initial research studies show some promise but the usefulness of the test needs to be established by more detailed trials.'

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