A U.K. researcher confirms what many dog lovers already know -- dogs are good for your health.

Apparently, dog owners are generally healthier than non-pet-owners. They have lower blood pressure and cholesterol, suffer fewer minor ailments, and stray from serious medical problems too. Dogs can prevent their owners from getting sick, help them recover more quickly when they do fall ill, and they can even warn of cancer, heart attack, epileptic seizures, and hypoglycemia, says Dr. Deborah Wells from the Canine Behaviour Centre of Queens University in Northern Ireland.

Wells, whose study is published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, says dogs buffer us from stress -- a well-known cause of illness -- and promote general well-being. Owning a dog leads to increased physical activity and increases development of social interactions -- both of which minimize stress and contribute to human health.

While Wells found those who own both dogs and cats benefit from their pets, dog owners enjoy improved health for much longer than cat owners.

Canadian researcher Evangelos Michelakis, associate professor of medicine at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, has stumbled upon something quite remarkable -- a potentially new anti-cancer agent called dichloroacetate, or DCA.

DCA is nothing new -- it's long been used for treatment of rare metabolic disorders -- but using it to fight cancer puts an entirely new spin on the potential of this drug.

"This is one of the most exciting results I've ever had," Michelakis said. "But I can't be overenthusiastic until it works on a human."

Michelakis and his colleagues have successfully used DCA to shrink human lung, breast, and brain tumors in both lab rats and test tubes. And while this type of research may not ordinarily generate a lot of excitement, this specific study is creating a buzz because DCA has been safely used in humans for decades, without adverse side effects.

"One of the big concerns about drugs is that they can harm people but we already know this drug is safe," Michelakis says. "It doesn't even affect normal cells."

One of the fundamental premises of cancer biology is that mitochondria -- the energy producing units of cells -- are permanently damaged by cancer. What DCA does is revive the mitochondrial function, encouraging the death of cancer cells.

The overwhelming hope is that DCA will move right to human testing. But the overwhelming fear is that it will not -- because of economic reasons. There is no longer a patent on DCA so it is not owned by any one company. With little chance of one group making a large profit, there may be no incentive for pharmaceutical companies to invest in research.

Sadly, this drug -- that appears to work remarkably well -- may never benefit cancer patients. All because no one stands to make billions of dollars from it.

By virtue of his profession as a cancer research specialist, Joseph Harris, 26, a doctor of molecular biology, faced a moral dilemma and his solution found him guilty of breaking the law.

Harris, convicted under the Serious and Organized Crime Act, will be spending the next three years in jail. The Times Online, in Brilliant cancer scientist had double life as animal rights sab, features the clandestine life of Harris, whose work in discovering treatments and potential cures for gastro-intestinal and pancreatic cancers collided with his compassion as an animal rights activist and his passion for a girlfriend who dumped him because she disapproved of where his research would eventually lead -- to animal testing.

Harris pleaded guilty to causing damage to the premises of three companies connected to animal testing, and painting ALF (Animal Liberation Front) on walls, windows and vans belonging to the companies. He got caught in the act at the third facility.

When the Northampton Crown Court judge spoke to Harris he said, "I am sorry that your conviction and the sentence I impose will seriously damage what was a very promising career. It causes me great discomfort in seeing you before the court having thrown so much away."

Harris claimed he found information about the animal abuse at the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty website.

The last post in Anita Robert's blog My Journey -- where she shared her thoughts and feeling about the difficulties and surrealism of being diagnosed with cancer, going through cancer treatments and trying to survive cancer -- reads: Anita's journey ended peacefully at home on May 26, 2006. Robert's journey battling gastric cancer has come to an end.

Dr. Roberts, the 49th most-cited scientist in the world and the third most-cited female scientist, chief of the Laboratory of Cell Regulation and Carcinogenesis at the National Cancer Institute, had found blogging a therapeutic tool for introspection and in communicating and connecting with others online. She had created a special page in her blog for devotions, mantras, words of faith, guidance or wisdom tradition, and invited readers to share some of their own. She was highly-regarded and much loved by the people she worked with, and most deeply loved by her family and friends. Her adult children wrote The Song of BellaDonna: a true story of hope when they learned of her cancer diagnosis. Dr. Anita Roberts was 66.

It has been brought to my attention by my co-writer on this blog, that a researcher in Oslo, Norway has been scandalously creating reports, and completely making up information, patients, ages, and results. As a reaction to such unfortunate news, the Health Minister in Norway is planning to speed up a new law which could bring jail time to individuals who falsify data. The law will support stricter rules for overseeing research, and could make faulty researchers liable to criminal charges. Currently the worst thing that can happen is the researcher can be fired, and prohibited from practicing medicine. Pertaining to Jon Sudbo, he has been on sick leave over the weekend and not able to comment. It is unfortunate that the law can not be retroactive when applied to Dr. Sudbo; however he will be held liable under the new law. Ha det bra!