A team of British animators has produced a human heart so realistic it will transform surgical training.

Five hundred years ago Leonardo da Vinci transformed our understanding of the heart. Famous as a painter, sculptor and inventor, he also made detailed studies of the human body. One of his great discoveries was how heart valves eddy the flow of blood. Inspired by one of his drawings, a British heart surgeon pioneered a new way of repairing damaged hearts.

Now a brilliant team of British animators has taken the next leap. Using skills honed in the world of TV commercials and the entertainment industry, they have produced a human heart so realistic it will transform surgical training.

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Alongside mother's ruin, what about model's ruin? 80s icon Paula Hamilton has had a long battle with the bottle.

Model Paula Hamilton epitomised youthful beauty for me as a teen in the late 80s, says Clea Myers. Her image was summed up in the VW Golf ad: who needs a man, money, mink or indeed clothes, when you still have keys to the car?  But underneath the so-called glamour, glitz and natural assets Hamilton was struggling with alcoholism, just like thousands of women in the UK today.

Since 1997, Germany has installed 300,000 home energy kits.  In the UK we've managed 10,000.

By Donnacadh McCarthy

When in 1997 my home became the first in London to export solar electricity to the national grid, my dream was that millions of others would quickly follow. Accountancy firm KPMG had produced a report stating that solar electricity was technologically competitive with oil, but needed a mass market to be economically competitive. Since then, Germany has installed over 300,000 home renewable energy systems. But the UK has barely managed 10,000. The result: installation costs in Germany are now half those in the UK.

Continuing the discussion started by Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Professor Mary Kaldor of the LSE explains her view of New and Old Wars.

I do think we’re in the midst of what might be called a paradigm shift in the nature of conflict and the nature of war.  Some of you may have seen Rupert Smith’s new book, The Utility of Force, where he talks about the shift from industrial war to what he calls war amongst the peoples.

It's said that anyone who understands what this image represents is forever changed by it.  How about you?

Have you ever wondered how big the universe really is? Looking up at the night sky rarely gives the viewer any idea of the scale of the objects that you can see with the naked eye. In 2003, the Hubble Space Telescope took the image of a millennium, an image that shows our place in the universe.  Have a look at this splendid video for a deeper perspective.

'It's about valuing people who might not be valued elsewhere,' says Penny Walker, one of the founders of the Coventry Refugee Centre, of her work with the refugee community.

By Geraldine Royds 

'In 1998-99 Kosovan and Afghan refugees started coming to Coventry, in the UK. I've always done practical and campaigning work - campaigning against the wars that create refugees and against the asylum system – as well as offering direct help,' she says.