Describing it as "the final act of self-expression", a cosmetic sales company has teamed up with a London undertaker to offer a range of make-up for the dead.
Illamasqua says the cosmetics will be applied by a trained make-up artist, who will apply a range of blushers, lipsticks, nail polish and eyeliner to bring "ritual beauty to the final act for those who love to self-express".
The company has signed an exclusive deal with the 220-year-old Leverton & Sons funeral directors, for a fee that begins at £450 (Dh2,600).
Illamasqua says its beauty philosophy "encourages people to self-express and embrace their alter ego in every way".
And, it asks: "Why should this be any different when you pass away? It is a celebration of life, and one that should be indulged for your last glamorous look."
New fence has sting
Farmers in Kenya have discovered that bees are the best way of preventing wild elephants from eating their crops.
An increase in the local pachyderm population has led to a growing problem of crop losses, with traditional thornbush fences proving inadequate.
Instead, the July edition of the African Journal of Ecology reports, researchers have exploited the animals' known fear of bees by placing hives around fields.
At the end of a two-year experiment, it was shown that elephants smashed through thorn fences 31 times but only made it past the bees once.
As an added bonus, the farmers are able to make an extra Dh100 a month from honey sales.
The price of globalisation
A supermarket in Germany was forced to close for three days after the world's most venomous spider jumped out of a bunch of bananas.
An employee reported seeing a 13cm grey spider running out of a box of bananas he had just unloaded at the store, at Bexbach, in the south-west of the country.
After a Google search, the creature was identified as a Brazilian wandering spider, noted for its aggressive behaviour and a bite that can lead to breathing problems, paralysis and even death.
Led by an expert from a local zoo, a team of 30 searched the store without result. Pest control experts then sprayed the interior with poison.
A foot up in malaria fight
An insecticide that mimics the scent of foot odour is the latest weapon in the fight against malaria.
Field tests have shown that the bloodsucking insects find the smell of body odour irresistible when looking for a victim.
Researcher at the London School of Tropical Medicine analysed the chemical composition of human body odour, leading to the invention of a spray containing nine of the most pungent compounds. Mosquitos are drawn into a portable trap by the scent and then killed. The project has now been given Dh2.8 million by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to produce a commercial model cheap enough for use in developing nations.
