A little scope with big impact could increase survival rates for cancer patients.
Ovarian cancer claims the highest mortality rate of all gynecologic cancers – as high as 70 percent – in part because the disease is rarely detected earlier than stage 3 or 4. When the disease is discovered early in its development, however, survival rates are high. An effective screening technique for early detection could not only save lives, but also drastically improve their quality.(more…)
In a new study, fisheries researchers from North Carolina State University found that black sea bass (Centropristis striata) can usually survive the physical trauma that results from being hauled up from deep water then released at the surface. The finding is part of a larger study of the fish’s mortality rate, which will inform stock assessments designed to help ensure that the black sea bass fishery is sustainable.
Black sea bass are bottom-dwelling fish, and are often caught at depths of greater than 60 feet. When the fish are brought to the surface, the rapid change in pressure causes the fish’s swim bladder to expand. This forces other organs out of the way and can result in visible “barotrauma” – such as the fish’s stomach being forced partially out of its mouth. (more…)
Austin, TEXAS — It’s not the chicken or the egg, but marine scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have answered a basic question about red drum fish and their eggs that may eventually help save the state of Texas a lot of money in hatcheries management and make fish farming more environmentally friendly.
Every year the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department spends millions of dollars breeding red drum, a popular game fish, releasing between 20 and 30 million hatchery-raised fingerlings into eight different bays and estuaries along the coast. In order to maximize the numbers that survive to adulthood, the practice has been to provide adult fish a diet rich in fatty acids for nine months before breeding season. During breeding season, in order to save money and resources, the diet is less rich. (more…)
When it comes to honey bees, more mates is better. A new study from North Carolina State University, the University of Maryland and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that genetic diversity is key to survival in honey bee colonies – a colony is less likely to survive if its queen has had a limited number of mates.
“We wanted to determine whether a colony’s genetic diversity has an impact on its survival, and what that impact may be,” says Dr. David Tarpy, an associate professor of entomology at North Carolina State University and lead author of a paper describing the study. “We knew genetic diversity affected survival under controlled conditions, but wanted to see if it held true in the real world. And, if so, how much diversity is needed to significantly improve a colony’s odds of surviving.” (more…)
Scientists have found the answer to why female killer whales have the longest menopause of any non-human species – to care for their adult sons.
Led by the Universities of Exeter and York and published in the journal Science the research shows that, for a male over 30, the death of his mother means an almost 14-fold-increase in the likelihood of his death within the following year.
The reason for the menopause remains one of nature’s great mysteries and very few species have a prolonged period of their lifespan when they no longer reproduce, as in humans. However, female killer whales stop reproducing in their 30s-40s, but can survive into their 90s. While different theories have been put forward for the evolution of menopause in humans, including the well-established ‘grandmother’ hypothesis, there has been no definitive answer to why females of a small number of other species, including killer whales, also stop reproducing part-way through their lives. (more…)
Hospitals that continue CPR longer have better survival rates from cardiac arrests, according to a study published online Sept. 5 in The Lancet. The findings challenge the assumption that, if a pulse is not restored soon, continuing resuscitation efforts is futile.
The results also showed that patients who recovered after an extended CPR effort were no more likely to suffer brain damage than are patients revived after a shorter effort. (more…)
Lowering glucose levels for people with diabetes is normally critical to improving health outcomes. But for diabetes patients with heart failure, that might not always be the case, say UCLA researchers.
A new study found that for advanced heart failure patients with diabetes, having higher blood glucose levels may actually help improve survival rates. (more…)
Researchers from UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have found that by administering a PET scan to individuals with soft-tissue sarcomas after just a single cycle of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, they can predict increased survival in these patients.
Prior research by this multidisciplinary team of physician-scientists had shown that a combined PET/CT scan using a glucose uptake probe called FDG allowed them to determine the pathologic response of patients’ tumors after the first dose of chemotherapy drugs. They then wondered if the patients who showed a significant PET response after the first round of chemotherapy also were surviving longer. (more…)
