The Framingham Heart Study pioneered the concept of risk factors. This article recaps the history of the study, describes poster and essay contests used to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the study, and outlines the involvement of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in school health research. (Author/MT)

Discusses issues and the public's concerns related to using laboratory animals for research purposes. Indicates that several perceptions (such as recognizing that the public's attitudes toward respect for animal life are no more irrational than many broader attitudes toward the sacredness of life) characterize the most responsible of recent…

Reviews the pros and cons of using animals or alternatives in scientific research. Such alternatives (as indicated in congressional bill HR 556) include mathematical models, isolated organs, tissue and cell cultures, computer simulations, mechanical models, and "lower" organisms among others. (SK)

Describes a project conducted to improve nursing students' attitudes toward research. Various teaching approaches were developed and integrated into the classroom with positive results. In a followup questionnaire students recommended stressing the practical and clinical application of research and the integration of research from the beginning of…

It is suggested that the functions of an institutional review board are to educate, inform, and assist in protocol preparation as well as to review applications in order to ensure that human subjects involved in research are protected. The University of Texas Health Science Center also mediates, exerts peer pressure, and influences policy as it…

Five published leukemia studies have been retracted by the director of the Human Genome Project because they were based on falsified data from a graduate student, although some of the conclusions are still supported. Inconsistencies were discovered by a peer reviewer and were also found in the student's other work. (MSE)

A review of the combined M.D.-Ph.D training program at Johns Hopkins Medical School (Maryland) found that, of 109 students who earned both degrees since 1980, 42 have completed all training and are now in career positions. Most (81 percent) are in full-time academic posts, with 14 percent in research institutes and the remaining 5 percent in…

Discusses the problem of fraud in scientific research and provides background on the medical research fraud case of John Darsee in 1981. Results of analysis of citations to Darsee's publications are reported, indicating that his work continues to be cited positively; and the dangers of fraudulent research are considered. (28 references) (MES)

Today there are more job openings in the field of histotechnology than there are educated people to fill them, and the U.S. Department of Labor expects employment opportunities for histotechnicians and histotechnologists to grow by 10 to 20 percent over the next eight years. According to the Wage and Vacancy Survey published by the American…

The article reports that a wayward research project shattered the trust last year between Arizona State University and a small American Indian tribe in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. This scandal exposed once again the need for tribal governments and Native American communities to get involved in regulating research on human subjects. In response…

A team of researchers who just finished analyzing 20 years of data from locales around Los Angeles said that particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter poses the greatest risk of causing early death as it can penetrate deep into the lungs and sometimes even enter the bloodstream. Such particles are often found in smoke, vehicle…

The Commonwealth Fund is a philanthropic foundation established in 1918 with the mandate "to do something for mankind." The fund in 1974 responded to a wide variety of ideas and proposals in the field of medical education and health care. A dominant goal of the fund has been to support and encourage medical centers in their efforts to…

A program in one of the National Institutes of Health offers clinical training fellowships as a means of training potential dental school faculty by providing both unique clinical skills and high-quality research experience. The program was developed in response to a perceived need for change in academic dentistry. (MSE)

A voluntary summer research program, implemented at the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo, is described. Publications and presentations by medical students and responses of students and faculty members to a questionnaire were used to evaluate it. (Author/MLW)

A program to provide research training experience at the Mayo Medical School for third-year students is described. Surveys of student attitudes have shown positive feelings concerning their research accomplishments and the value of the time they spent doing the research. (Author/MLW)