PARIS - AS oxygen bars begin to pop up across France, health authorities are beginning to question the merits or otherwise of sniffing O2.

Supposed to improve health and well-being, oxygen bars date back to the late 1990s, spreading from Canada to California and to Britain and Japan, in nightclubs, health clubs, airports or even trade fairs.

But Paris' first oxygen bar opened only last week.

Flagged as 'a revolutionary anti-fatigue, anti-stress and anti-depression concept,' the city's maiden O2 bar is housed in an up-market beauty institute owned by no less than the wife of top French publicist and political 'kingmaker' Jacques Seguela.

Mr Seguela has been very much in the news recently for bringing together President Nicolas Sarkozy and his new wife Carla Bruni around a dinner table, a coup that comes almost three decades after helping propel leftwing leader Francois Mitterrand to the country's highest public office.

7 qualities you need to be a great parent to a preschooler

What's it really take to parent a preschooler? It's pretty simple, once you realize what kids this age can and can't do (and what sets them off and what keeps them happy!). Here are seven qualities that make it much easier to manage all that, and why they're so crucial when you've got an independent-minded, boundary-testing picky eater on your hands.

Sex lessons must start at age five

This article, and many of the posters, make the simplistic and incorrect link between formal school based sex education and early pregnancies. Research suggests that the influence of specialized sex education programs are probably less important than the influences of family, local culture and mass media. The key is the cultural influence around growing children, with a media and culture that continually glamourizes sexual behaviour and a large proportion of parents who behave like animals on heat, is it surprising that kids grow up having sex before they are ready for the consequences. And if you think that Mrs MacTavish at the local Primary School talking about relationships and sex is going to have a big effect against these wicked influences you are kidding yourselves. .

A voyage of discovery

Six months have passed since the opening of the Cairo Children's Cancer Hospital (CCHE), a project that epitomises Egyptians' collective effort to provide free treatment for those in need through making charitable donations. The hospital, known as "57357" after the number of its bank account to which donations can be sent, now treats some 760 patients, 40 of whom are from Arab countries.

"We are trying to make the hospital look like a big toy, or a cheerful place for children, because cancer is a very cruel disease for them," says Sherif Abul-Naga, director of Academic Affairs, Research, Training and International Outreach at the Hospital, as well as professor of paediatric hematology and oncology at the National Cancer Institute at Cairo University.

Lycopene supplement aimed at skin protection

The Israeli firm has been taking steps in the niche market of cosmeceuticals as consumers seek products which help boost their appearance. One of the newest trends in nutritional foods is the emergence of the "beauty from within" segment, which is predicted to become a strong niche over the next few years.Now LycoRed has been granted patent protection for the ingredient in Australia. The ingredient is a carotenoid composition of lycopene, phytoene, phytofluene, and optionally vitamin E, that protects the skin from the damaging effects of UV radiation.This novel cosmeceutical preparation can be delivered via a dietary supplement or in a fortified food or beverage, LycoRed said."While up until now, the dominant means for supplementing the diet with important nutrients was via capsules, what we offer here, is quite unique," Zohar Nir, vice president of new product development said."This is a natural lycopene composition that can be either encapsulated in a soft gel or easily added to a beverage to create a year round fortified sun protection drink.

Bill Clinton Stops in Siouxland

President Bill Clinton made five stops in Iowa Thursday along with the support of former Governor Tom Vilsack. Their second stop in Spencer, Clinton challenged the county, which pulls in 320-thousand people for the Clay County Fair, to pull in that many to caucus for Hillary Clinton. President Clinton says Hillary has a plan to change health care in the U.S. and that plan stars with changing medicare. Bill Clinton, Former President of the United States, "Instead of having a back door attempt to privatize medicare, Hillary says get rid of that, take the savings back into medicare and provide preventative care for all the seniors so we can reduce the cost of medicare over the long run and keep everybody healthier we can do it for far less money." Bill says Hillary also has a plan to change the country into a "green" country which he says would create millions of dollars and jobs.