Kielder Forest bids to become 'dark skies preserve'
Forest authority is confident its sparsely populated land will meet criteria laid down by International Dark Skies AssociationSmall, busy and overcrowded, England might seem the last place in the world to have room for one of the planet's largest inhabited areas of unspoiled, natural darkness when night falls.But if plans by Kielder Forest and the adjacent Northumberland national park are realised, the country will be home to an official dark sky preserve equalled only by two lonely areas in Quebec and Texas.Every outside light in 400 square miles of England's northernmost county is to be audited in preparation for the scheme, announced on Thursday by the two authorities. A public campaign will also be launched to win over local people to specially adjusted streetlamps and unobtrusive se...div id=medwormpbiMedWorm Sponsor Message:/i/b Have a look at a href=http://www.thepsychologydaily.comThe Psychology Daily/a, the new psychology portal powered by MedWorm, with all the latest psychology news and research updated daily./p/div

Terminally-stage patients 'need stronger pain relief'
Many patients with “advanced cancer and other debilitating conditions” aren’t being given strong enough pain relief, BBC News has reported. This is thought to be due to doctors being reluctant to prescribe strong opioids, such as morphine, partly as a result of patients’ concerns over addiction. Patients may also wrongly assume that they are nearer the end of their life, as there is a misconception that opioids are only given during the final stages of terminal disease. The news is based on new medical guidelines on the safe and effective prescribing of strong pain-relieving drugs for people living with and dying from a terminal condition (palliative care). The guidelines, issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), are designed to help medical staff...