Sir David Nicholson, head of the health authority that oversaw the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust hospital for 10 months in 2005 and 2006, before becoming the head of the NHS in England, told a committee of MPs a couple of months ago, that he was "absolutely determined" to carry on...

The recent discovery of three women in Cleveland, Ohio, who had been abducted for such an extended period, has rekindled hopes that others long-missing could still be found. The search for Madeleine McCann appears to have been re-invigorated, coinciding with the recent publication of an 'age-progressed' photograph.

But new data...

A classic psychology study explored men's greater appetite for sex without ties; an attractive male or female approached strangers of the other sex at a college, declaring, "I have been noticing you around campus. I find you very attractive." The collaborators with the experiment then asked one of three questions,...

The allegations surrounding the hostage case in Cleveland, Ohio, remain truly astonishing; how can three women be kidnapped, raped and beaten for so long?

One possible explanation derives from a psychiatric phenomenon which is supposed to develop in these extraordinary and intense predicaments, termed 'Stockholm Syndrome'.

Named after a failed...

Allegations over male on male rape have recently hit the headlines, but because this crime is so rarely properly covered in the media, is it possible it's prone to even more misapprehension, taboo and myth, than other kinds of sexual assault?

The prevalence of male-on-male rape, or sexual assault,...

James McCormick has been convicted of three counts of fraud after selling fake bomb detectors and jailed for ten years - the judge declaring the multi-millionaire businessman had blood on hands.

The 'Advanced Detection Equipment' was based on a golf ball finder device and sold for up to £27,000 in...

Working hard is intrinsically a good and moral thing to do - the so-called 'Work Ethic' - does this really exist? Is the work ethic even regarded as a good thing any more? 'Work-life balance' is all the vogue, so perhaps the 'work ethic' destroys family life and over all...

Writing answers from his hospital bed, 19-year-old accused bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told investigators that he and his older brother Tamerlan acted alone - that they received no training or support from outside terrorist groups and planned their attack following instructions from the al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula's online magazine...

Dr Anne Speckhard, an adjunct associate professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University, USA, and author of a new book entitled Talking to Terrorists, includes in that account of a decade of interviewing terrorists, some research also undertaken between herself and Dr. Khapta Akhmedova, professor of psychology at Chechen State University.

Margaret Thatcher's electoral success could be linked to her superior performance before TV cameras, compared to her main adversaries of the era.

Psychologists Peter Bull and Kate Mayer from the University of York analysed in unparalleled depth Thatcher's performances in the main TV interviews of the day.

Their...

A team of 42 doctors, professors and other experts have just published in the prestigious medical journal the Lancet, the most definitive and up to date assessment of how the NHS is doing.

The authors, led by Professor Christopher Murray from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of...

North Korea has been described as the most secretive nation on earth - yet in order to negotiate successfully with an adversary, it's essential to get inside their heads.

Professor Victor Cha from Georgetown University in the US was Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council -...

Mick Philpott has been jailed for life after an arson attack which killed six children; the trial judge described him as disturbingly dangerous with no moral compass. The father of 17 children was trying to frame a partner who had dared to leave him. Philpott also boasts a long history...

Dr Joseph Bergeron, an Associate Physician at a North American Pain Clinic, has recently examined the details of Jesus' death.

The paper, published in the 'Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine' finds that death by crucifixion was usually slow, marked by pain, environmental exposure, starvation, dehydration, and probable infection.

Janne Korhonen from the Department of Organization and Management at Aalto University in Finland has just published an academic paper exploring whether we should really be trying as hard as we currently are, to make contact with extra-terrestrial intelligences; our assumption that aliens 'out there' would be benign, could be...

Researchers are uncovering different and surprising ways Banking Crises can kill.

'Do Banking Crises Cause Terrorism?' is the title of a new research paper analysing the effect of banking crises on terrorist activity for 146 countries between 1972 and 2006. The study, from the Universities of Paderborn and of Freiburg,...

Mary Louise Cowan and Anthony Little from the University of Stirling have just published one of the most comprehensive psychological investigations into the role of humour in flirting. The study explains why being funny is closely linked to being fancied.

Previous research on ads placed in Lonely hearts columns finds...

It's difficult to remember given all that's happened with Vicky Pryce and Chris Huhne, that this epic case began with an apparently innocuous speeding offence.

But Huhne's driving licence was already so over-burdened with points, more would have tipped him over the limit, with possible shattering consequences for his...

The worst betrayal is discovering someone we trusted has in fact been exploiting us.

Then comes the rumination on the wrong we've suffered, followed, inexorably, by revenge fantasies. Our lives become diverted because the addictive power of payback renders it impossible to focus on anything else.

But dwelling...

Five women and one man are currently suing the Metropolitan Police over alleged intimate relationships with undercover officers, a UK Parliamentary cross-party Home Affairs committee revealed recently.

One woman claimed a six-year relationship with a former PC, who posed as an environmental protester to infiltrate a group. It is...