Actress Sylvia Kristel, the Dutch star of the hit 1970s erotic film Emmanuelle, has died of cancer aged 60.

Her agent, Features Creative Management, said that Kristel died in her sleep on Wednesday night.

Kristel, a model who turned to acting in the 1970s, had been fighting cancer for several years. Her breakthrough came in Emmanuelle, an erotic tale about the sexual adventures of a man and his beautiful young wife, played by Kristel, in Thailand. She went on to star in several sequels to Emmanuelle, as well as in a 1981 film version of the D.H. Lawrence novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

Dolphins’ sleepy trick

Dolphins can stay alert and active for 15 days or more by sleeping with one half of their brain at a time, scientists have learned.

The trick of keeping half the brain continuously awake is vital to the sea mammals’ survival, experts believe.

It allows them to come to the surface every so often to breath, and remain constantly vigilant for sharks.

Hero dog for surgery

A dog from the Philippines who became an inter-national hero after it sacrificed its snout to save two young girls is to have surgery in the US to repair her missing muzzle.

Vets at the University of California, Davis, say Kabang needs chemotherapy for a tumour before she can have the gaping wound on her face closed. The mongrel had its snout and upper jaw sheared off when it jumped in front of a speeding motorcycle while walking with its owner’s daughter and niece.