Lord Steel, architect of the 1967 Abortion Act, says today that abortion is being used as a form of contraception in Britain and admits he never anticipated 'anything like' the current number of terminations when leading the campaign for reform.

The space shuttle Discovery successfully launched today despite last-minute concerns about a chunk of ice discovered on its fuel tank.

Letters: Breast cancer is talked about openly now, but it has always been there ('We've had war, we've had plagues, but never this...', G2, October 22). In the late 60s I started my nurse training. Breast cancer sufferers, young ones among them, did not have the benefit of the drugs or screening of today, and often endured highly invasive surgery as well as radiotherapy.

· Killing wild animals 'can limit spread of cattle TB' · Comments contradict independent report

Madeleine Bunting: Synthetic biologists say their technology could tackle climate change and feed the hungry, but its dangers are terrifying.

Scientists have welcomed the European Commission's decision to drop new rules that would have outlawed the use of MRI scanners in hospitals and medical research laboratories by next year.

Scientists have found a gene that regulates lifespan in mammals which could one day lead to treatments to hold off ageing and its related illnesses such as Alzheimer's, cancer and heart disease.

· Flight goes ahead despite cracks in thermal shield· Two missions commanded by women for first time

Johnjoe McFadden: Like the eugenicists of the early 20th century, James Watson betrays his fear of a changing world.

Nobel Prize winner James Watson has flown home to America with the taunts of his critics ringing in his ears. But should he have been shunned after his explosive remarks on race?

Henry Porter: The repellent views of people such as geneticist James Watson should be countered by argument, not by more repressive laws.

Dr Andy Lewis runs a website called Quackometer; he criticised the Society of Homeopaths in no uncertain terms. In his opinion, they do not enforce their own "code of practice" (you're not even allowed to imply you can cure a named disease!); it is a figleaf; and they fail to censure their members over dangerous claims.

· Decision follows London and Bristol cancellations· Professor attempts to defend remarks in article

· Women better off being fast-tracked to IVF· Drug adds to cost and increases risks

Letters: Your article (Abortion inquiry asks scientists to disclose links to faith groups, October 15) reported fears of infiltration into the evidence and witness list by the Christian Medical Fellowship in the science and technology select committee inquiry into the scientific issues impacting on abortion law.

Marine science in Britain is underfunded and uncoordinated despite the vital role played by oceans in the planet's wellbeing, MPs warn in a report today.

·Many choose procedure for fear of losing fertility·Doctors warn there is no guarantee of pregnancy

Odours given off by breastfeeding women and newborn babies boost the sexual desires of other women, a team of fertility specialists claimed yesterday.

Scientists are working on a technique to create coatings for food containers that will cut down on waste.

It is one of the most notorious cases in British legal history, the story of an apparently mild-mannered doctor who poisoned and dismembered his showgirl wife, then fled across the Atlantic with his young lover - only to be caught after a sharp-eyed captain recognised him from the newspapers.

· Side effects of pill will be avoided, say researchers· Suppository or skin patch product still 10 years away

Women who have acupuncture alongside IVF treatment could harm their chances of becoming pregnant, researchers say.

He won the Nobel prize for finding out what DNA looks like. Now James Watson is only too happy to spill the beans on old colleagues and rivals. By John Crace.

It was four storeys tall, had a neck 10 times longer than a giraffe's and was possibly history's biggest vegetarian: meet Futalognkosaurus dukei, "chief of the lizards".