The study involved scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre in Cambridge and a Belgian team at the University of Liege.

BBC: Vegetative state patients can respond to questions

The team, led by Jean -Pierre Bourguignon from the University of Liege, discovered that children emigrating to other European countries also had an increased tendency to begin puberty early.

BBC: Premature puberty link to DDT