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Cats versus dogs and a historic two-metre long tapeworm

By Lilian Anekwe

Our roundup of health news headlines on Thursday 30 September.

It's time to choose your side and declare your allegiance. Dogs, or cats? The Daily Mail's report that pet dogs can help children's eczema, but cats can make it worse, may be the last nugget of information that sways you to one side or the other.

I'm a cat lady, all day long and twice on a Sunday. I have loads of them at home that I am training into an army that will attack on my command.

Naughtiness, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as The Guardian calls it, is not a myth and may have a strong genetic cause.

Research suggests the £1 a day osteoporosis drug denosumab could reduce the risk of tumours in women taking hormone replacement therapy or the pill, the Daily Mail says.

One pound might not sound like a lot to the Daily Mail, but if you can sponsor a cat for £4 a month then for £1 a day you could fund an army of cats that would attack at my command. I'm just saying.

Babies fed enriched bottle milk are far more likely to be obese by age five, The Independent, says. A study by British researchers found body fat was between 22 and 38% higher in babies given milk enhanced with nutrients than those given standard formula milk. Imagine what enriched milk could do for my army of cats!

A bogus dentist practised on the NHS for nine years- without anyone bothering to go through the formality of checking whether she was actually qualified, the Daily Mail says.

The Daily Telegraph says pregnant women should be offered the flu jab because of lingering swine flu fears.

This last one is disgusting and there simply is no cat army joke that can salvage it. The Guardian reports a girl vomited a two-metre long worm – incredibly, one of three worms in her digestive system – but relax, it was during the nineteenth century.

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

Daily Digest 30 September 2010