WEIRD STUFF: Face-to-face break-ups a thing of the past

Face-to-face break-ups a thing of the past

Dumping a partner has become a thing of the past, according to a new study that found non-confrontational Generation Z to prefer separating from their partners by ghosting them.

'Ghosting' occurs when someone cuts off all communication without explanation. This includes snubbing calls, texts and social media messages. Researchers say it is the method of ending a relationship for younger people.

The study by dating site Ashley Madison found that finishing with someone face-to-face now only happens in 24 per cent of break-ups.

Only 11 per cent said that they would end a relationship with a phone call.

Relationship expert Lucy Beresford: "A person would prefer to be told face-to-face about the ending of a relationship.

"Yet, what is actually happening increasingly is the 'slow fade', where people take longer and longer to reply.

"Rather than a clear-cut ending, the relationship gradually fizzles out -- which can be agonising."

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Dads' brains shrink after baby is born

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Scientists have found slight alterations in men's brains after a child is welcomed, and areas that help males care for their newborns develop.

The "daddy baby-brain" physically changes the areas that are linked to empathy and visual processing to allow for a better emotional connection.

The study compared brain scans from 40 new fathers to those of childless men.

Professor Darby Saxbe of the University of Southern California said: "Becoming a parent entails changes to your lifestyle and your biology.

"It requires new skills, like being able to empathise with a non-verbal infant. So it makes sense, but has not been proven, the brain would be particularly plastic during the transition to parenthood. It might suggest higher-order cognitive processing involved in fatherhood."

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Frog found in supermarket groceries

A family was shocked to find a tree frog hidden in their supermarket bananas.

Iain Holloway discovered the amphibian when his family was unpacking their Sainsbury's food delivery at their home in Staffordshire last month.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), which is an organisation operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare, believes that the tree frog stowed away from the Dominican Republic and had been wrapped up with the bananas "for some time".

Holloway said: "We were unpacking the shopping in the kitchen and my wife turned to me and said, 'Look, there's a frog in the bananas' and I said, 'Sorry, there's a what in the bananas?'

"We then all stood in the kitchen looking at each other, wondering what to do as there isn't really a manual for these sorts of things."

He continued: "We rang the RSPCA, who advised us to look at the information about frogs on their website, as we didn't know whether it was a non-native species. In the meantime, our 12-year-old son started to do a bit of research and told us he thought the markings looked like a Hispaniolan common tree frog.

"It was a complete surprise to see this little creature in our kitchen so far from home, and we've all had a bit of a chuckle about it since."

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