In the papers...

Metformin fights cancer

Diabetes drug, metformin, could be used to fight breast cancer. The drug, which is used to treat Type 2 diabetes, especially in the obese or overweight, seems to protect its users from cancer. Female patients with a long term metformin regime were up to 56 per cent less likely to develop breast cancer.
Daily Mail, 15 April 2011 

UK drug laws 'outdated' 

A report by thinktank Demos suggests that drug control legislation is no longer 'fit for purpose' and should be replaced. The report also suggests that the potential benefits of new substances be considered as well as the dangers, as legal highs may prevent experimentation with more dangerous drugs. Between 2008 and 2009, before legal high mephedrone was outlawed, cocaine-related deaths in the country fell by 28 per cent. 
The Observer, 15 May 2011 

Tooth bleaching needs regulation 

High street salons and spas are damaging teeth and burning gums when performing teeth bleaching, says the General Dental Council. Unlicensed practitioners and untrained staff can perform the procedures due to a legal loophole, but regulators are now prosecuting unlicensed tooth whiteners. Dentists charge around £500 for bleaching, but it is cheaper on the high street. 
The Times, 5 May 2011

Space renders drugs less potent 

Long space missions have increased the need for effective drugs for astronauts, but when medicines stored in the international space station were compared to controls kept on Earth, those sent up into space were found to have lower potencies. It is suggested that higher radiation exposure on board is to blame. 
BBC News, 17 April 2011