Black rice – revered in ancient China but overlooked in the West – could be one of the greatest "superfoods", scientists believe.

Over the past two months press releases have been popping into journalists' inboxes with one recurring message: porridge sales have glooped into orbit. Manufacturers and retailers recorded rises of up to 70 per cent during the cold snap when shoppers sought a warming bowl for breakfast.

A gooey, lumpy, grey mess on a cold plate, it was surrounded by watery carrots and what could have been mashed potato or perhaps cauliflower.

Until yesterday, the Goldman Sachs homepage was plastered with a single large number – 134,237. That's not, before you get cross, this week's bonus payout, but the total number of hours worked this year by Goldman staff for "non-profit community partners worldwide". Will the bank's worthy record on charity prevent the world sticking it to them following yesterday's profits? In a word, no.

All women of child-bearing age are being advised to take extra folic acid after a rise in spina bifida cases.

Popcorn is the latest and most unlikely food shown to have health-boosting properties.

Where better to start a column than with your breakfast? According to the Breakfast Cereal Information Service, two-thirds of us eat Shreddies, Cornflakes or another cereal every week and many of them are high in salt and sugar (up to 40 per cent sugar).