Elizabeth Brown, an expert in regulatory law at the University of St Thomas in Minneapolis, calculates that whereas America's banking system (measured by total assets) is only a little more than twice as big as Britain's, the government spends 60 times more on regulation than Britain does.

ECONOMIST: Northern Rock

Hamish Wallace, a paediatric oncologist at the University of Edinburgh, and Thomas Kelsey, a computer scientist at the University of St Andrews, both in Scotland, may be able to help.

ECONOMIST: Predicting the menopause

The scientists are recruiting volunteers to take part in the clinical trial at four hospitals - University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, Guy's and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust in London, Bristol Royal Infirmary and Royal Victoria Hospital in Newcastle.

BBC: girl injecting insulin