A cup of coffee could be a better pain-reliever than drugs, say scientists. Caffeine, the active ingredient in coffee, was more effective than painkillers like ibuprofen and even morphine. But it was only effective on pain combined with sleep deprivation. It means patients' suffering could be eased with shots of caffeine. It boosts dopamine, the brain's pleasure-chemical that makes people feel good. In experiments groups of six to 12 lab rodents were kept awake for as long as 12...

UKIP's first MP Bob Spink has denied electoral fraud following allegations he submitted false signatures on nomination papers. The former Essex MP appeared at Southend Magistrates' Court todayu alongside co-defendant James Parkin, 38. Spink, who defected from the Tories in 2008, denied a total of 14 offences relating to the local council elections in May last year. He was dressed in a black suit and blue and burgundy tie and shook his head as his charges were read out to...

For the past several years, every time we turned on the television, all we seemed to hear were ads blaring about PPI and claiming refunds, or compensation for being sold the controversial payment protection insurance. It was driving viewers nuts. If you were wondering what all the fuss was about, since 2011, it has added up to £26.7 billion in payouts by the banks responsible for the mass mis-selling scandal that's been called one of the biggest financial outrages in...

Samsung's fortunes have fluctuated in recent times, with their quest to challenge and ultimately supersede market rivals Apple achieving mixed results.  By 2014, for example, Samsung's profits were in decline, while the brand had been undermined by continued suggestions that they had cynically replicated the popular iPhone design. This all changed with the release of the Galaxy Alpha, however, which saw the introduction of solid metal frames and the type of elegant finishing that has now become a Samsung trademark....

Villagers have been left baffled by a £50,000 Maserati which has been parked in the same place for more than a week. The luxury white sports car first appeared in a village hall car park last weekend - but still hasn't been moved eight days on. The two-door Maserati Ghibli was perfectly parked by the driver who reversed the vehicle into a bay before abandoning it. But the car has a private registration plate which residents in East Hanningfield, Essex,...

This review contains spoilers Obsession is a work about frustrated sexual expectations and celluloid dreams. It is self-reflexive and caught in the repetitive loop of Luchino Visconti’s 1942 film Ossessione yet feels like a radical comment on our age. Ivo van Hove directs and Simon Stephens gives us an English version translation. This collaboration makes sense: previous work from the two, such as Songs from Far Away, brought multiple layers of meaning and theatrical transcendence to  an experimental level. And...

A beach that washed away over thirty years ago during large storms has reappeared due to a freak tide. The beach close to the Irish village of Dooagh on Achill Island vanished in 1984 after huge waves swept away all the sand, leaving just rock pools behind. Good for catching crabs, not so great for sunbathing. The rock pools left behind caused trade to plummet with almost all the village’s hotels, guesthouses and cafes shutting down. One freak tide ruined...

TLE readers are in with a chance to win a Bickerton fold up bike worth £1,049.99 to celebrate this year's Spin Cycling Festival taking place at London Olympia this weekend. Folding bikes are all about key areas; ease of fold, weight and stiffness resulting in a solid, comfortable ride. Bickerton have completely redesigned the Argent platform from the ground up and this has resulted in a bike that is at the forefront of folding technology today. With the latest in hinge technology (not available...

I don't know about you, but as for me if I never hear or read the word meta again it'll be too soon, unless of course it's someone singing 'I Met a Girl' from that fine old musical Bells Are Ringing. It is not that I have any prejudice whatsoever against self-referential elements within a specific piece of media (at the most basic level we would lose the Christmas Panto for one thing) rather it is the over-use of the...