After Laura Moon started suffering stomach pains, doctors decided to carry out an ultrasound scan on the teenager. When they saw the results, they were astounded.For the scan revealed that she had four kidneys. The 18-year-old is now hoping to donate the extra organs for transplant operations.
Only a handful of people in the UK have four kidneys, although having three is relatively common. But Laura’s case is especially unusual because all four are fully formed and functional.
You may have thought cola wars had fizzled out – with every possible variety having now been invented. However, Pepsi is reopening hostilities by launching a new “healthy” option.Pepsi Raw is said to be made from natural ingredients and contains no artificial preservatives, colours, flavourings or sweeteners.
Traditional Pepsi contains fructose corn syrup, sugar, artificial colourings, phosphoric acid, caffeine, citric acid and natural flavours.
In comparison, Pepsi Raw has only natural ingredients including apple extract, plain caramel colouring, coffee leaf, tantaric acid from grapes, gum arabic from acacia trees, cane sugar and sparkling water. It is paler in colour and less fizzy than other cola brands.
By replacing corn syrup with cane sugar, Pepsi claims it has managed to reduce the calorie content of a 300ml bottle, from around 126 calories per serving to around 117 calories.
Cutting the amount of sugar in the drink could also help prevent damage to teeth.
To begin with, Pepsi Raw will only be available in selected bars and clubs in seven cities – London, Manchester, Glasgow, Brighton, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool, although a wider roll-out is expected later in the year.
A Scottish man became the fastest to cycle around the world yesterday when he arrived in Paris after nearly seven months on the road. Mark Beaumont, 25, completed the trip in 195 days and six hours – beating the current record of 276 days. After almost seven months of dodging drivers, sleeping rough and struggling to get enough to eat, Beaumont is expected to enter the Guinness Book of Records, once the feat is verified.
Carrying 80kg of gear, including a tent, on a £2,500 road bike, Beaumont beat the previous record by 81 days. He said the last two days on the road had been hard, but “about 40km from Paris the adrenaline kicked in and I flew up the last hills”.
His trip took him through 20 countries on a route which included Pakistan, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Holland last August took four hours; Germany three days. He endured floods and road rage and was knocked off his bike in Louisiana in the US by a motorist who drove through a red light.
At one point, also in the US, he found himself at a motel which turned out to be full of crack addicts, who stole his wallet and BBC camera. But once he was back in the saddle he cycled through four US states – Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida – in two days.