Habitable alien moons such as the one shown in the blockbuster movie Avatar may become science fact within the next few years, according to a leading astronomer.

In the 3D film, a race of 10 ft blue-skinned giants inhabits an Earth-like moon called Pandora. Their world orbits a gas giant planet similar to Jupiter that cannot support life.

US astronomer and planet-hunter Lisa Kaltenegger, from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, believes there is every chance a real-life version of Pandora exists and will soon be found. (PA)

Sushi set to go sky-high

Sushi will soar to new gastronomic heights next week when a Japanese astronaut blasts off for the International Space Station with a load of raw fish.

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who will fly into space today from the Baikonur cosmodrome with Russia's Oleg Kotov and Nasa's Timothy Creamer, said he had introduced his colleagues to raw seafood when they trained in Japan.

"We had training in Japan and I trained (my space colleagues) to be sushi lovers, so I am going to make a couple of flavours of sushi," Noguchi told a news conference before Monday's launch of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

According to NASA, normal fare on the space station includes staples like mushroom soup, macaroni and cheese or chicken and rice, while on the Russian side there are tinned perch, curds with nuts and beetroot soup (borscht) sucked through a straw from a plastic bag. (Reuters)

Stalin's defender

A Moscow radio station said it is being sued by Josef Stalin's grandson who claims the station wrongfully dishonoured the dictator.

The lawsuit is the second of its kind filed by Yevgeny Dzhugashvili. Ekho Moskvy radio said the suit was filed against programme host Matvei Ganapolsky who read a phrase from a book saying Stalin had approved the shooting of children as young as 12.

Mr Ganapolsky then added: "What kind of bastard would say even one word in his defence?"

Mr Dzhugashvili lost a similar libel case in October. (PA)

No silent night

Excited children miss out on an entire day of sleep over Christmas and their grumpiness causes most festive rows, according to new research.

Youngsters lose out on just over 25 hours of sleep in the Christmas week and cause 70 per cent of family arguments, a survey by bed manufacturer Silentnight found.

Their average bedtime on Christmas Eve is 11.41 p.m., waking up at 6.17 a.m. - even though it is recommended that under-13s have at least 10 hours' sleep a night. (PA)

Fresh and clean

Fresh teeth and clean underwear are more important than a dishevelled appearance for the over-50s on holiday, according to a survey.

Asked to forego one essential item when on a trip, just two per cent said they could do without a toothbrush, the poll by insurance company Staysure.co.uk found.

Only five per cent reckoned they could get by without underwear, and only nine per cent would willingly dispense with deodorant. (PA)

Choir's 'busty' treat

A music teacher in the US has been suspended after taking 40 pupils to eat at a Hooters - the restaurant chain known for its busty waitresses who wear tight shirts and skimpy orange shorts.

Mary Segall, a choir director at Paradise Valley High School in northeast Phoenix, Arizona, accompanied choral students at a performance at the Arizona Centre last week. While there, the students ate lunch at the Hooters restaurant.

Ms Segall told her principal that the restaurant was the only place that could accommodate a group of that size. (PA)