Research news: alcohol-related murder; alcohol-related breast cancer

• Scotland: Alcohol was a factor in twice as many murders as previously thought due to a mistake in official figures. Last year, figures were published showing drink played a part in 19% of such incidents but the actual figure should have been 41%. It means 57 people accused of murder in 2005/6 were reported to have been drunk at the time. Just 13 people (9%), not the 41% previously stated, were reported to be under the influence of drugs. The Scottish Government said the mistake was produced by statisticians in the previous administration. BBC News

• Three or more drinks a day, whether beer, wine or spirits, boost a woman's risk of breast cancer as much as smoking a pack of cigarettes, U.S. researchers have found. The relationship between alcohol and breast cancer is known but there has been little data on whether the choice of drink made a difference. In what the researchers said was one of the largest studies to investigate links between breast cancer and alcohol -- found that alcohol itself and the amount a person consumed were key rather than the type of drink. Arthur Klatsky of Kaiser Permanente in California and one of the researchers said:

"Studies have consistently linked drinking alcohol to an increased risk of female breast cancer, but until now there has been little data, most of it conflicting, about an independent role played by the choice of beverage type" Reuters