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• Man\'s genes \'key to baby\'s sex\'
  A man's genetic make-up may play a role in whether he has sons or daughters, a study of hundreds of years of family trees suggests.
• Unicef child study disputed by UK
  The UK government has complained about a study saying early years childcare and education in England is falling behind that of other developed nations.
• Pop tunes used to calm babies
  Rocking a baby to sleep has been given a whole new meaning as mothers ditch traditional lullabies for popular pop and rock tunes.
• Caesarean increases asthma risk
  Babies born by Caesarean section are more prone to developing asthma, say Dutch researchers.
• Left-handers\\\' lower test scores
  Left-handed pupils do less well in tests than their right-handed peers, a study from Bristol University suggests.
• Obesity \'programmed before birth\'
  Eating a high-fat diet in pregnancy may cause changes in the foetal brain that lead to over-eating and obesity early in life, research suggests.

Safer test developed for Down\\\'s

Scientists say they have developed a safer blood test that can tell a women if her unborn baby has Down's syndrome.

Invasive procedures currently used risk miscarriage and damage to the foetus.

A Stanford University test of DNA evidence in 18 pregnant women's blood correctly identified nine cases of Down's syndrome, reports PNAS journal.

The university now wants a larger-scale test. Babies with Down's syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21, causing physical and intellectual impairments.

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