Senate Budget Committee Chair Ken Conrad (D-N.D.) on Wednesday plans to introduce a fiscal year 2008 budget resolution that will include funds for an expansion of SCHIP, as well as billions of additional funds for health care for veterans and other domestic programs, the Washington Post reports. [click link for full article]

Periodontal diseases may contribute to the progression to pre-diabetes, according to a new study that appears in the March issue of the Journal of Periodontology.Pre-diabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. [click link for full article]

There is a “deep and serious disagreement” between opponents and supporters of human embryonic stem cell research about whether embryos should have “moral inviolability,” but the divide “should not be permitted to obscure the important points of agreement that should exist between citizens on the competing sides,” Robert George, a professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University and member of the [click link for full article]

Smokers should do short bouts of exercise to help them resist the temptation to light up, say experts at the University of Exeter. A review, recently published in the international journal ‘Addiction’, concludes that when smokers abstain from smoking, exercise can help them to manage withdrawal symptoms and resist the urge to smoke. [click link for full article]

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday introduced a bill that would increase federal funds for SCHIP by at least $50 billion over five years and provide access to some form of health insurance for almost all uninsured children, the [click link for full article]

Food allergies in children are more common than ever - and parents are having to fight with schools and daycare centers to ensure that their children are not being exposed…

People with abdominal aortic aneurysms stand a better chance of surviving if they are operated on at hospitals that see large numbers of these patients than if they are treated at smaller regional hospitals with fewer such patients.This finding is supported by two papers published in this month’s BJS. Both pieces of research were led by Peter Holt, who works at St George’s Hospital, London. [click link for full article]

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R), who has formed a presidential exploratory committee, on Monday fielded questions about his positions on social issues, including abortion, after a video clip surfaced showing him supporting publicly funded abortions during a speech in 1989, the [click link for full article]

Chronic heart failure resulting from dilated cardiomyopathy is rapidly emerging as a disease of epidemic proportions.1 Molecular mechanisms are being studied and advances have been made in a minority of cases, e.g.: the familial forms. Intracellular [Ca2+]i homeostasis is essential for normal cardiac function and integrity, and dysregulation of [Ca2+]i is a hallmark of advanced heart failure. [click link for full article]

Pope Benedict XVI in a 130-page “apostolic exhortation” released on Tuesday wrote that “values” such as opposition to abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage are “non-negotiable,” and that Roman Catholic politicians are “especially” obligated to defend the church’s beliefs on the issues, the New York Times reports. [click link for full article]