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DOGS ARE SURPRISINGLY adept at sniffing out lung cancer, results from a pilot project in Austria published today suggested, potentially offering hope for earlier, life-saving diagnosis.
“Dogs have no problem identifying tumour patients,” said Peter Errhalt, head of the pulmonology department at Krems hospital in northern Austria, one of the authors of the study.
The test saw dogs achieve a 70-percent success rate identifying cancer from 120 breath samples, a result so “encouraging” that a two-year study ten times larger will now take place, Errhalt said.
The results echo anecdotal evidence of odd canine behaviour when around cancer sufferers and are backed up by the results of similar small studies, including one by German scientists in 2011.
The ultimate aim is not however to have canines stationed in hospitals, but for scentists to identify what scents the dogs are detecting, explained Michael Mueller from the Otto Wagner Hospital in Vienna, who collaborated on the pilot project.
This in turn could help scientists reproduce in the long term a kind of “electronic nose” – minus the wagging tail – that could help diagnose lung cancer in the early stages, thereby dramatically improving survival rates, Mueller said.
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Christ, around 5am the wind changed direction here in galway as the storm past, thought the house was gone
@David Hynes: Sounds really terrifying, can only imagine how you felt. We were lucky here, minimum damage as far as I can see.
Have just woken up to a beautiful morning here in south east. Was all this hype really nessessary.
@John Flanagan: try being here in the west!
@Joe x: I’m out near Dublin Airport, and it’s pretty bad here at the moment.
@Joe x: we must have been lucky. Stay safe.
@John Flanagan: The South East is one of the least affected regions, still it’s impacting the boats coming into Rosslare Harbour…
@John Flanagan: trees down everywhere in the midlands all trains from Athlone in all directions cancelled until they get rid of trees across the tracks
@John Flanagan: it’s windy enough in wicklow John
@John Flanagan: “I’m OK so everyone else must be too”
@John Flanagan: What hype? Did you read the article or are you just being a troll
Bit early in the morning I think for you
@Jimmy Wallace: There’s always one who says,’There’s always one.
@John Flanagan: You are an ignoramus.
@John Flanagan: we are in Meath, up all night and have woken up to extensive damage outside. Stay safe everyone.
@John Flanagan: I suppose you are the first to complain if they don’t have a hype when it is necessary in your opinion.
@John Flanagan: All that hype about about bombing in Gaza and Ukraine, perfectly quiet round here.
@Lin: me too navan. Fence down and broken
Will somebody please think of the children
Just give me the day off like.
@Claudia: It sounds like you don’t contribute much to your job anyway like.
@Claudia: Did ya get the day off like…?
Did this storm start in Dallas, has that City already been done?
@Bert Carolan: Dallas was Well and truly done
@Bert Carolan: big blow
Storms do not follow county boundary lines. When will Met Éireann realize this?
@Max: Think of the possible chaos if ME used a different system? If half a County was red? Exactly which bit am I in?
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: Yeah, if only there was a system identifying my exact location within a county or region…we could call it an Eircode, wait a minute!!!
@Si Con: How do you envisage a storm warning system based on Eircodes to work? If people cannot cope with the possible arbitrary nature of a system based on county boundaries they will be complaining about the time next. “It said Orange until 10.00am but the wind died down at 9.15! Who do I complain to?”
@Si Con: you actually seriously expect storm warni gs to work by eircode fml
If Google did storm warnings, with the amount of data we give online, they would probably be able to tell everyone where their trampolines and bins were on the hour!
Stay Safe folks and don’t make unnecessary journeys.
Closing the schools doesn’t stop the spread of the storm. Wake up sheeple.
@Alberto Balsam: but it’s baaaaaaa’d for too many road users to be out in this, me and my maaaaaaaaaa are following the warnings and staying at home, so should ewe.
@Alberto Balsam: You think that’s why the schools are closed this morning?
@Llennoc: it’s called sarcasm you simpleton.
@Alberto Balsam: It’s more satire, but however, the lovely Llennoc still wouldn’t get it.
Lots of Debi Debris around drive safe
Storm over in Galway and NOW the power goes off!
Debbi Me Gee)))
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