Many people, including health care workers, believe that morphine is a lethal drug that causes death when used to control pain for a patient who is dying. That is a misconception according to new research published in the latest issue of Palliative Medicine, from SAGE Publications. [click link for full article]

Nitric oxide improves oxygenation but not mortality in acute lung injury: meta-analysis BMJ Online FirstUse of nitric oxide in patients with acute lung injury does not improve survival and may cause harm, warn researchers in a study published on bmj.com today.Many doctors treat acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with inhaled nitric oxide, despite no clear supporting evidence. [click link for full article]

For parents, 8 million cases of acute middle ear infections every year add up to a lot of sleepless nights and trips to the pediatrician. But new research from a collaboration between Rockefeller University and St. Jude Children’s Hospital could change all that.In PLoS Pathogens, Rockefeller’s Vincent A. Fischetti and colleagues at St. [click link for full article]

The San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine (SDCRM) leads California in grants and funding following the approval of Comprehensive Research Grants by the state’s stem cell agency.Since late last year, the consortium of UC San Diego, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and The Scripps Research Institute has received 29 grants totaling $37,336,063 to conduct life-saving work in human embryonic stem cell research. [click link for full article]

Geneticists have discovered a new gene that may put individuals at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease.The identification of the gene, called kalirin, implicates a biological mechanism never before linked to cardiovascular disease, according to the Duke researchers who led the study. Further study of this new clue could lead to novel ways to treat or even prevent the disease, the researchers said. [click link for full article]

In a remote area of the Amazon, globalization is threatening the time-honored transmission of plant knowledge from generation to generation, with adverse effects on childhood health and nutrition. [click link for full article]

If you eat some dark chocolate now-and-again you could well be lowering your chances of developing cardiovascular disease, say researchers at Yale Prevention Research Center, Connecticut, USA. It seems dark chocolate contains flavonoids which boost the function of endothelial cells in the lining of blood vessels. Flavonoids, antioxidant compounds, can also be found in several fruits and vegetables, some wines as well as several teas. [click link for full article]

Coronary risk up to 100 times higher during fires than risk during nonemergency duties Firefighters engage in a dangerous occupation, risking life-threatening burns and smoke inhalation, among other hazards. So it may surprise some that the leading cause of death on duty among U.S. firefighters is coronary heart disease (CHD). [click link for full article]

The 2007 H. Trendley Dean Memorial Award was presented to Dr. Kenneth Stephen, Emeritus Professor of Dental Public Health at the University of Glasgow Dental School, Glasgow, United Kingdom. during the Opening Ceremonies of the 85th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.During his professional lifetime, Dr. [click link for full article]

Measurement of progression-free survival, a widely used endpoint in cancer clinical trials, has methodological flaws that can lead to biased estimates.Katherine Panageas, Dr.P.H., of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and colleagues examined the use of progression-free survival (PFS) as an endpoint measurement in clinical trials.PFS is measured as the time from start of treatment to the first measurement of cancer growth. [click link for full article]