Heather Mills: new leg claims dismissed

Claims by Heather Mills, the estranged wife of Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, that she is having a brand new leg grown on the back of a laboratory mouse have been rubbished by boffins. Scientists at the University of Massachusetts, who have grown a human ear on the back of a mouse, say that any similar project to grow a replacement for the leg Mills lost in 1993 would be doomed to failure. Dr. Charles Vacanti created the ear by planting a biodegradable, synthetic frame on the mouse and adding human cells, but he doubts the leg story is true. "A human leg would be simply too big for a two ounce mouse to carry," he says. A spokesperson for Mills says the former model is standing by the story, and plans to show off the new leg when she takes part in the US version of Strictly Come Dancing.