science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Τετάρτη 9 Ιανουαρίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

Study advances treatment of respiratory failure in ALS patients
Researcher learns mechanism of hearing is similar to car battery
Centralisation to fewer surgeons results in better survival after oesophageal cancer surgery

Study advances treatment of respiratory failure in ALS patients

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 12:36 PM PST

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastating neurological disorder with few effective treatments and no known cure. The most frequent cause of death in ALS patients is breathing failure because, as the disease progresses, it kills the nerve cells that cause the respiratory muscle to contract.

Researcher learns mechanism of hearing is similar to car battery

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 08:26 AM PST

University of Iowa biologist Daniel Eberl and his colleagues have shown that one of the mechanisms involved in hearing is similar to the battery in your car.

And if that isn’t interesting enough, the UI scientists advanced their knowledge of human hearing by studying a similar auditory system in fruit flies—and by making use of the fruit fly “love song.”

Centralisation to fewer surgeons results in better survival after oesophageal cancer surgery

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 08:16 AM PST

Patients who undergo surgery for oesophageal cancer have a much greater chance of long term survival if the operation is carried out by a surgeon who has performed this particular operation many times before. This according to a new, large-scale study conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, which is published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. In their article, the researchers conclude that oesophageal cancer surgery should be concentrated - or centralised - to fewer surgeons.