They may be the country’s most popular pet, but the UK’s seven million moggies now face bigger, tougher rivals on their territory Demand is surging for ‘supercats’ – domestic breeds crossed with larger African or South American wildcats. Breeders are reporting up to six-month waiting lists for new kittens, despite price tags of up to £6,000. But animal welfare groups have warned that the size and instability of such hybrids means they could pose a danger to other pets and even small children. The savannah, the most popular supercat, is bred from a serval, a cheetah-like wildcat found in Africa. They can grow up to 35lb – compared with around 10lb for a typical domestic cat – and can jump 7ft vertically. Savannahs are thought to have first arrived in Britain in the past few years, with up to 300 living here.

A ‘masterswitch’ in the body’s battle against cancer has been identified by British scientists, raising hope of new treatments.

The key gene triggers the production of blood cells capable of fighting  -  and killing  -  tumour cells.

The cells form part of the body’s natural armoury against disease and we all have some.

Infusions of natural killer cells donated from volunteers are already given to some cancer patients. However, because they come from another person, they are not a complete match and so do not work as well.

The discovery of the ‘master-switch’  -  a gene called E4bp4 that causes ‘blank’ stem cells to turn into natural killer cells  -  paves the way for a drug to boost the patient’s own stock of the cells.