Patrick Wayne, son of late actor John Wayne, says Larry King has true grit. And that's why the CNN talk show host will receive the True Grit Award next month, an honor that hails from the John Wayne Cancer Institute.

King, 73, will receive his honor at the annual Odyssey Ball on April 14 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Jamie Lee Curtis will host the event that will commemorate the centennial of John Wayne's birth.

The Odyssey Ball began 22 years ago and has helped raise more the $14 million to support the John Wayne Cancer Institute's research and treatment programs.

"Larry King epitomizes the strengths and qualities that characterized my father, and for which the True Grit Award was created," said Wayne, who serves as chairman of the board at the institute, located at the Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica.

Founded by the Wayne family in 1981, the institute honors John Wayne who died of stomach cancer in 1979.

The York Mints "Designer Series" tins are the ultimate fashion accessory. Celebrity designers Nicky Hilton and Nicole Miller created two fresh new York Mints designer tins exclusively to benefit the Young Survival Coalition (YSC). The intricately designed tins house the latest mint offering from York, featuring a soft mint center surrounded by a layer of dark chocolate and hard-candy shell.

Hilton's tin features a chic black and white design with a muted floral pattern, capturing the essence of her signature style. Miller's tin has a black and cream intricately designed palette following suit of her Spring 2007 collection.

Each tin features the designers' signature and will retail for $25 with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the YSC.

Who and what was the most googled in 2006? The Year-End Google Zeitgeist top ten lists for general and news searches on the Internet this year include Paris Hilton and Bebo -- and cancer.

Of the celebrities most searched for, Paris Hilton outranked Orlando Bloom and the social networking site Bebo outranked MySpace. In the news category, cancer ranked as the third most searched for topic, before podcasting, autism, Hurricane Katrina, and bankruptcy.

The top ten Google searches were, in this order: Bebo, MySpace, World Cup, Metacafe, Radioblog, Wikipedia, Video, Rebelde, Mininova and Wiki. The top ten Google news searches were, in this order: Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, cancer, podcasting, Hurricane Katrina, bankruptcy, Martina Hingis, autism, the 2006 NFL Draft and Celebrity Big Brother.

Surprised to see Paris Hilton topping the list of news searches? Sadly, me neither. Personally, I am not certain that she has ever done anything newsworthy, other than having proven a supreme talent for the uniquely cunning ability to stay in the headlines for no particularly meaningful reason.

It is substantially interesting that cancer was the third most searched for news topic this year. I know that those whose lives have been touched by cancer can feel very alone, and if this proves anything, we are certainly not alone in trying to sort through the many issues linked to cancer.

Because we just published a post where we shared information that a good night's sleep in total darkness might aid in reducing cancer risks in Light is a risk factor for cancer, today's news regarding research study findings from the University of Chicago that found people are not getting the amount of sleep they think they are getting, grabbed my attention. Could it offer additional information into cancer risks and cancer prevention? As it turns out, not really, but I did learn that Paris Hilton not only lives better than most of us, but she is also more rested than many of us. How this applies to any one I know, I am not sure. However, I will slog on and share what I found out that might be relevant.

Parents who know they are at high-risk for passing on genetic defects that can lead to disease for their child, have been relying on genetic testing to screen embryos for inherited diseases. British scientists announced today they have developed a new test that focuses on DNA fingerprinting near the gene. The new test allows more couples to be tested since they are looking at DNA markers opposed to trying to find the gene, which can vary. According to the researchers, this is a more reliable test. The method involves taking a cell from the embryo to detect signs of the DNA marker and discarding it if it does show the likelihood of gene mutation. Only healthy embryos are used during the in-vitro fertilization, ensuring parents a healthy child.

Right now, there are strict ethical controls on this type of medical procedure, but in the years to come, when these types of procedures become more commonplace, and less expensive, will the controls begin to relax? I am not going to argue against choosing a healthy embryo over one that carries a genetic mutation that might one day lead to disease later in life, but I am still hesitant to embrace where the medical field might be going with these new tests and the potential for superficial application such as -- say -- designer babies. Paris Hilton mommies embryonic shopping for a child. I realize that is an extreme example, but it is the one I fear most. In addition, I am not an adherent of scientific worship and see medical science as a very shaky inexact science. The more I learn, the more I realize they do not know. However, here we are, and you can't un-ring a bell. Hopefully the future will prove all my misgivings wrong.

For more thoughts on designer babies, related posts: Woman pregnant with cancer-free baby and Disease-free designer babies embryo selection.

In a feature published in the Sydney Morning Herald, Julietta Jameson asks the same question many of us have asked -- Is the compassionate celebrity the new public pest? If you are talking about Paris Hilton's insatiable self-promotion in grabbing one more photo-op by making a shallow meaningless promise to a charity for kids with cancer, the answer is a resounding yes. If you are talking about U2's Bono, who regularly meets with world leaders and often knows far more about the subject under discussion than the politicians do, then the answer is an emphatic no.

Then there are all the celebrities who fall between the extremes of Hilton and Bono, who lend their name and some of their time, for noble reasons and then too for the less-admirable ambition of keeping themselves in the news, to causes that need attention for the fundraising needed to keep the charity or cause going.

No one has ever credited millionaire heiress Paris Hilton with being anything but a pro at papazzari primping. Unless you are a Paris Hilton fan -- and if this story is true -- it might not come as a great shock but it is still despicable. The incident being reported involves innocent children.

Seems Ms. Hilton was playing to the cameras and not to the hearts of the children she promised to help at Paradise Kids. While visiting the Gold Coast, she pledged her support to the children battling cancer by staging a benefit concert, stating that "My grandmother died of cancer and I almost lost my cousin to leukemia. It's just something very important to me. I love kids and I just feel it's the right thing to do. It makes me feel good about myself and it helps other people."

According to Paradise Kids co-founder Reverend Dr. Ian Mavor, after the cameras were gone, so was Hilton. Mayor told the news reporter interviewing him that because she made a public vow to raise $250,000 dollars for the charity, it has hurt the Gold Coast Paradise Kids fundraising efforts. He said no one thinks the charity needs money since Hilton is supposedly helping them. This all happened two years ago. Mayor has tried to contact Hilton, but to no avail. Maybe the check is in the mail. Right.

"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." -- Mark Twain

According to several international news services and tabloid newspapers with an online presence, Elizabeth Taylor, legendary movie star and cancer survivor, is suffering heart failure and near death. Reported to be bedridden at her home in Bel Air, California, she is said to have cancelled her annual Easter party to plan her funeral. According to an unnamed friend, "Liz is inching closer to death every day and she knows it. It is not a pretty picture. She's not leaving a lot of money to her children. She wants the bulk of her fortune to go to AIDS research." I guess dying isn't enough of a news story, a publisher decided to add this scurrilous gossipy little comment from an anonymous friend on how her estate will be settled. Other than her attorneys and estate planners, I doubt few know the status of her will.

Her publicist, Dick Guttman, states that Taylor is not near death, and is instead, quite busy with her successful perfume and jewelry lines and the work she does for AIDS. "The endless health stories surrounding Taylor's supposed impending death," Guttman says, "have just become exasperating." Mark Twain predicted this one right. I cannot find any credible reports indicating that Guttman is playing smoke and mirrors with the public. All the reports of Taylor's impending death do seem to be coming from very specific, and perhaps slightly questionable, sources for news information. My vote for accuracy goes to Guttman. We send her our best wishes for continued good health.