Science

Special glasses help surgeons 'see' cancer

Photo courtesy: Washington University School of Medicine

High-tech glasses developed at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may help surgeons visualise cancer cells, which glow blue when viewed through the eyewear.
The wearable technology, so new it's yet unnamed, was used during surgery for the first time  at Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.
Cancer cells are notoriously difficult to see, even under high-powered magnification. The glasses are designed to make it easier for surgeons to distinguish cancer cells from healthy cells, helping to ensure that no stray tumour cells are left behind during surgery.
Current standard of care requires surgeons to remove the tumour and some neighboring tissue that may or may not include cancer cells. The samples are sent to a pathology lab and viewed under a microscope. If cancer cells are found in neighbouring tissue, a second surgery often is recommended to remove additional tissue that also is checked for the presence of cancer.
"Our hope is that this new technology will reduce or ideally eliminate the need for a second surgery," wrote breast surgeon Julie Margenthaler, MD, an associate professor of surgery at Washington University, who performed the operation.

***

Photo courtesy: University of Tennessee

Crocodilians can climb trees  and bask in the tree crowns

When most people envision crocodiles and alligators, they think of them waddling on the ground or wading in water – not climbing trees. However, a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, study has found that the reptiles can climb trees as far as the crowns. The research is published in the journal Herpetology.
Vladimir Dinets, a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, is the first to thoroughly study the tree-climbing and -basking behavior.
Dinets and his colleagues observed crocodilian species on three continents – Australia, Africa and North America – and examined previous studies and anecdotal observations. They found that four species climbed trees – usually above water – but how far they ventured upward and outward varied by their sizes. The smaller crocodilians were able to climb higher and further than the larger ones. Some species were observed climbing as far as four meters high in a tree and five meters down a branch.
The research suggests that at least some crocodilian species are able to climb trees despite lacking any obvious morphological adaptations to do so.

***

Cars, computers, TVs spark obesity in developing countries

The spread of obesity and type-2 diabetes could become epidemic in low-income countries, as more individuals are able to own higher priced items such as TVs, computers and cars. The findings of an international study, led by Simon Fraser University health sciences professor Scott Lear, were published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Lear headed an international research team that analyzed data on more than 150,000 adults from 17 countries, ranging from high and middle income to low-income nations.
Researchers, who questioned participants about ownership as well as physical activity and diet, found a 400 percent increase in obesity and a 250 percent increase in diabetes among owners of these items in low-income countries.
The study also showed that owning all three devices was associated with a 31 percent decrease in physical activity, 21 percent increase in sitting and a 9 cm increase in waist size compared with those who owned no devices.
Comparatively, researchers found no association in high-income countries, suggesting that the effects of owning items linked to sedimentary lifestyles has already occurred, and is reflected in current high rates of these conditions.
The results can lead to "potentially devastating societal health care consequences" in these countries, Lear writes. Rates of increase of obesity and diabetes are expected to rise as low- and middle-income countries develop and become more industrialized.

***

Virtual avatars may impact real-world behavior

How you represent yourself in the virtual world of video games may affect how you behave toward others in the real world.

How you represent yourself in the virtual world of video games may affect how you behave toward others in the real world, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
“Our results indicate that just five minutes of role-play in virtual environments as either a hero or villain can easily cause people to reward or punish anonymous strangers," writes lead researcher Gunwoo Yoon of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
As Yoon and co-author Patrick Vargas note, virtual environments afford people the opportunity to take on identities and experience circumstances that they otherwise can't in real life, providing "a vehicle for observation, imitation, and modeling."
They wondered whether these virtual experiences -- specifically, the experiences of taking on heroic or villainous avatars -- might carry over into everyday behavior.
The researchers recruited 194 undergraduates to participate in two supposedly unrelated studies. Participants who were randomly assigned to play Superman (a heroic avatar) were more generous toward others than those who played Voldemort (a villainous avatar) or a circle (a neural avatar). The findings, though preliminary, may have implications for social behavior, the researchers argue.