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NEWSNOTES
SCIENCE NEWS
 Light
of Life: Seen from a distant star, the earth is a faint blue dot barely
visible against the sun's glare. Would an intelligent alien have any clue
that here is a planet brimming with life? Yes, instantly, say recent studies
by Princeton University scientists on a NASA mission called Terrestrial
Planet Finder. While Venus and Mars glow evenly, earth puts on its own
little show. Its oceans, deserts and forests reflect light differently,
with characteristic patterns for each. Light from earth appears to ebb
and flow constantly. This will help NASA decide what to look out for as
it sends space probes to scour the skies for similar planets hospitable
to life.
 See
Any Evil?: Nature sometimes has a perverse sense of humour. The more
you fear snakes and spiders, the more likely you are to spot them quickly,
according to a new study on phobias in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Psychologists asked over 130 patients to spot snakes and spiders among
harmless images. Regardless of distractions, subjects who admitted to
fear of an object found it faster than non-phobic subjects. This suggests
that the object "popped out" to be detected rather than being
actively looked for. Scientists put this down to survival instinct.
 2Moro's
Gr8est: While the Short Messaging Service (SMS) on mobile phones fuels
debate-and romance-across the world with its curious shorthand language,
scientists have quietly been developing the thing that will make it history:
multimedia messaging (mms) or enhanced messaging. This will allow text
to be combined with photographs, voice clips and eventually, video. A
pilot project using mms in a live network is already on between Nokia
and Sonera in Finland. The expected commercial roll-out is next year,
and it should be available here soon after.
—Compiled by Supriya Bezbaruah and
Samrat Choudhury
HEALTHWATCH
THROAT CANCER
Silencing Many
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LOST CHORD:
Shenoy with a patient. Most of them consult a doctor too late. |
Though crucial statistics are still wanting,
hospital records show an increase in the incidence of mouth and throat
problems of all sorts varying from simple laryngitis to cancer. Doctors
pin the causes on a range of habits like smoking, chewing gutkha, paan
and tobacco, anaemia, voice abuse and even long telephone conversations.
Difficulty in speaking and swallowing or a lump
in the throat may be among the first noticeable symptoms of throat cancer.
In more advanced stages the patient may find difficulty in breathing.
Anyone with any of these problems ought to see
an ENT. Surgeon Ashok Shenoy of the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology
in Bangalore says, "We see nearly 2,000 head and neck cancer patients
every year. Of this nearly 70 per cent come to us when the cancer is in
the advanced stage, which means half of them have no chance of survival.
The reason is that not many know about this kind of cancer."
Radiotherapy can be used to treat the cancer
in the preliminary stages. If the disease, which doctors classify into
stages I-IV in increasing order of severity, has reached stage-II then
radiotherapy and surgery are required. For more advanced stages surgery
is the only option. In such cases the trachea and larynx may be operated
upon. The patient could lose his voice. The cost of treatment varies widely
and depends on the stage the disease is in.
Among surgical procedures, endoscopic laser
surgery, a "bloodless, minimally-invasive surgical procedure'' which
enables a patient to walk out of a hospital and resume normal life in
a couple of hours, has advantages over conventional methods. In conservative
surgery, the same patient would have to spend a few painful days in hospital
after the operation. The cost of laser therapy is between Rs 4,000 and
Rs 5,000.
Apart from physical effects, cancer has psychological
aspects. Surgeons at the Kidwai Institute, where on average 150 patients
with advanced throat cancer arrive each day, say the disease should be
declared a handicap by the Government since it can result in people losing
their voice. The hospital has a Laryngectomy Club, also called the "lost
chord club", for patients who have suffered the disease. The club
members act as a support group and offer counselling to new patients.
—By Stephen David with Methil Renuka
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METRO TODAY
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