Surgeons to perform first UK face and hand transplant

Patients being assessed for radical double procedure as NHS watchdog warns more evidence of risks is needed

Sick note: Faking illness online

Why would someone fake a serious illness online? Jenny Kleeman on the strange world of Münchausen by internet

Mobile phone use increases brain activity, study suggests

Taking a call on a mobile phone seems to boost activity in parts of brain closest to the device, but there's no evidence of harm

George MacKerron: ‘I can measure how happy you are – and why’

George MacKerron is the inventor of Mappiness, an iPhone app that collates information from thousands of people to find out when, where and why we are at our happiest. Interview by Elizabeth Heathcote

Hidden the workings out? You might as well be a Raelian

Ben Goldacre: Sibling statistics, software secrecy and study shortcuts all show why scientific authority derives from transparency

This column will change your life: With friends like these…

We all know not to judge a book by its cover, so why do we take people we 'meet' on social networking sites at face value, wonders Oliver Burkeman

Safe sex with the stars of retro gaming

Leicestershire Teenage Pregnancy Partnership is using a vintage platform game parody to convey its 'use a condom' message.

Professor Ian Shanks: ‘It’s nice to have been able to help tens of millions of people around the world in controlling their diabetes’

With the aid of a toy microscope, Professor Ian Shanks came up with an idea that has improved the lives of millions and spawned an $80bn industry. Now he is battling Unilever for his fair share

The player: Learning to move forward

A new breed of games seeks to impart some lessons about real life