What's the most outrageous thing your boss has ever asked you to do? Cleaning toilets, teaching English to foreign colleagues and wearing revealing or indecent clothes to model in are just some of the items featured on the top 50 list of unexpected tasks. Researchers found requests from the boss sometimes go from the sublime to the ridiculous – one unlucky respondent revealed they were asked to follow another member of staff who left work, as the boss suspected that...

Being overweight reduces the motivation to exercise - explaining why New Year resolutions to shed the pounds often fail, according to new research. It has always been assumed obesity makes it harder for people to move around. But scientists now reckon the mental affect of the condition could be just as vital as the physical. A study on bloated mice found their lack of activity was caused by altered dopamine receptors in the brain, rather than the extra ounces they...

Children as young as four can pick up racist prejudices from their parents' body language, according to new research. The finding suggests prejudice is learned rather than instinctive - and handed down through the generations. Toddlers can 'catch' social bias through non-verbal signals expressed by grown ups, say scientists. Most conscientious adults tend to avoid making discriminatory comments in the presence of youngsters. But pre-school aged kids are influenced even through non-verbal signals such as a condescending tone of voice...

By Anna Power I met Liam Neeson at a hotel in knightsbridge to discuss the release of his upcoming films Martin Scorsese’s Silence and J.A.Bayona’s A Monster Calls both out on New Year's Day. I asked him: Both A Monster Calls and Silence are in their own way about human suffering. What are your thoughts on faith and how it sustains us in suffering? Liam: It’s an extraordinary subject. At the moment I’m very fascinated with science and the inroads...

The price of gold has been volatile in recent weeks mainly due to the upcoming US Federal Open Market Committee meeting, during which a decision on the US interest rate will be made. Gold started the second full week in December dipping to a nine-month low. And it’s likely that the yellow metal will remain volatile for some time, at least until investors figure the best path following the FOMC rate decision. Given a handful of positive data regarding the...

Sport News 24/7 By Richard de Winter & David de Winter - Sports Editor @TLE_Sport  @rgdewinter  @davidjdewinter TLE Sports Editor David de Winter is joined by Richard de Winter as they evaluate each team's Premier League performance so far, and reveal their predicted title winners and relegation candidates.

Wyndham Hacket Pain @WyndhamHP Having seen the film poster countless times on my way to work each day, and seeing the image of the boy next to the large tree-like monster, I couldn’t help but think that A Monster Calls was simply going to be a retelling of The BFG. Yet as the lights dimmed and the film began comparisons to Roald Dahl and other childhood favourites disappeared, as a very different monster awakened. A Monster Calls is the story...

Twenty-sixteen looked set to be a pretty dire year as far as celebrity deaths are concerned going in to the festive period. That's before George Michael, Carrie Fisher and Liz Smith really put the nail in the.... well, you get where I'm going. There's no denying that there has been a notable upsurge in the number of notable deaths this year. David Bowie, Prince, Harper Lee, Alan Rickman, Nancy Reagan, Muhammad Ali, Sir George Martin, Victoria Wood, Leonard Cohen, Glenn Frey, Sir Terry...

New pictures have been released showing a stunning winter sunrise over the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire. Although recent days have been mild for this time of year, a cold snap is expected to arrive in the next few days painting a crisp winter's morning over the backdrop of the three counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. The highest summit of the hills is renowned for its panoramic views of the Severn valley, taking in the Welsh mountains, parts of thirteen counties,...