As easy as riding a bike? Not in Rotherham...

By Pat Anderson

Our round-up of the health headlines on Wednesday 4 May.

British scientists have pinpointed three key breast cancer genes in a breakthrough likened to 'finding gold in Trafalgar Square', according to the Daily Mail.

The researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research in London were studying women with oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer and were surprised to find the three genes close to the oestrogen receptor - a place they thought they knew a lot about. They say their discovery could lead to possible new breast cancer therapies.

Would it surprise you to learn that a 'staggering' number of Rotherham children cannot swim or ride a bike and have never run 400 metres? The Star reports today that a survey of 1,500 children aged 6-15 showed that two out of three had a mobile phone but one in ten couldn't ride a bike and 15% could not swim. Almost a quarter had never puffed their way through a 400-metre run.

More teenage girls are self-harming, research reported by BBC news online suggests. A wide-ranging study in Wales showed that hospital admissions for self-harm among girls aged 15-17 increased from approximately 650 incidents per 100,000 people in 2003-2005 to about 900 per 100,000 in 2006-2008.

On a more cheery note, a new use may have been found for an existing drug. The HIV drug lopinavir kills non-cancerous cells infected with the human papilloma virus, according to a paper in Antiviral Therapy picked up by the Mirror. The paper's authors say lopinavir cream could be used to prevent cervical cancer.

Spotted a story we've missed? Let us know in the comments and we'll update the digest throughout the day...

Daily Digest