Irish scientists have make a massive
lung cancer breakthrough
Irish scientists have made a massive breakthrough in lung cancer research and the best thing about this breakthrough? It could help to stop the spread of this deadly disease.
A study carried out at St James’s Hospital in Dublin has been hailed as a huge step forward and should lead to the development of new ways of treating the disease in the future.
The research, carried out by Professor Ken O’Byrne and Dr Mary Claire Cuthbert, managed to identify a rogue enzyme that fuels cancer cells. The Irish Cancer Society funded the research that examined two blood clotting enzymes that are key to how lung cancer develops in patients.
Lung cancer has the highest death rate in Ireland. More than 1,700 people died from the disease in 2010 alone.
The team of researchers from St James’s Hospital examined tissue samples from more than 200 lung cancer patients and discovered that while one enzyme is responsible for causing cancer cells to spread rapidly, another works to reduce the growth of the cells. This information could be central to creating a new anti-cancer treatment which works with the enzymes of the disease itself.
Professor O’Byrne said that he is confident the discovery will lead to new therapies in the future.
“Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate of all cancers with less than 12 per cent of patients surviving five years after diagnosis in Ireland. It is now the biggest cancer killer for both men and women,” he said.
“Our research has significantly improved our knowledge of the regulatory mechanisms that control the survival of tumour cells in the lungs and we are confident that it will lead to new therapies that target lung cancer and make it controllable in the future,” he added.
The research done by Professor O’Byrne and co is being highlighted ahead of the British Thoracic Oncology Group Annual Conference which will take place in Dublin’s Burlington Hotel from January 25-27.
A 20 year old man is Killed in single car Roscommon road Crash
A man in his 20s has died following a single vehicle crash in Co Roscommon this morning. The incident occurred at 3.15am on the R366, Roscommon to Castlecoote Road, some 4km outside Roscommon town.
The man was the sole occupant of the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was removed to Roscommon hospital.
The road has been closed for a forensic collision examination and diversions are in place.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Roscommon Garda station on 090 6638300, the Garda Confidential line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.There are big concerns over ‘coastal erosion disaster’ threatening a Sligo seaside resort
COASTAL EROSION is threatening the extensive sand dune system in the Co Sligo seaside resort of Strandhill, where the golf course is also now at risk, according to local people.
Sligo-based Fianna Fáil Senator Marc MacSharry has called on the Government to provide emergency funding to avert “an unfolding coastal erosion disaster” which he says is posing a threat to “the integrity of the coastline, the very existence of Strandhill Golf Club and the community in Strandhill”.
Most of the popular walkway at the main beach in Strandhill has been washed away and Sligo County Council has been forced to block access for safety reasons.
A number of “SOS” (Save Our Sand Dunes) signs have been erected throughout the village as locals fear a popular amenity known as the Shelly Valley is under threat.
Strandhill has gained a reputation as one of the leading surfing destinations in the country.
Last year the council received emergency funding of almost €50,000 to protect the dunes and, while protective rock armour was erected, according to local businessman and surfer Neil Byrne, many of the measures taken were “washed out to sea” last month.
Mr Byrne, whose family runs the Strand Bar near the beach, acknowledged that the financial challenge facing the council was daunting.
“The council have tried, but this is a special area of conservation and under European law,” he said. “The State and the local authority have to protect it.” Mr Byrne estimated that up to 400 tourism jobs were at risk in the village.
While rip tides mean bathing is prohibited, there has been a surge in tourism in recent years.
Mr MacSharry told the Seanad last week that hundreds of thousands of euros would be needed to resolve the immediate threat.
Some local people have questioned whether what is happening is a natural phenomenon which happens in cycles over several decades. In the Seanad last week, Minister of State Brian Hayes said studies had shown that sometimes coastal erosion interventions caused problems farther along the coast.
Mr Hayes, who has responsibility for the Office of Public Works, said €45 million had been allocated this year for flood relief schemes and it would be up to the council to make a submission for further funding once a consultants’ report is complete.
Mr Hayes said that the council had received €423,000 for protection works including a rock revetment (barrier) in 2010, while last year a further €47,700 was approved for other works and €11,500 for a coastal study.
The council said a report from specialist consultants RPS was due at the end of next month. A spokesman said the consultants would advise on changes in beach behaviour.
The State pays more than €40m to re-hire retired public servants
As the Dole Queues get longer
HUNDREDS of retired public servants have been re-employed on temporary contracts while still holding on to their lucrative state pensions.
It has been revealed today how government departments and state agencies have hired retired staff over the past three years at a cost of more than €40m.
The bodies involved include the HSE, gardai, the Courts Service and the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The average value of the temporary contracts in 2010 was almost €10,000, which each retiree received on top of their pension.
This is the first time that details of payments to retired civil servants have emerged.
The Department of Finance confirmed last night that pension entitlements would only be affected if between their pension and extra work, the retiree earned more than their final salary in a year.
The revelations stemmed from an Irish Independent analysis of accounts of 41 government departments and agencies, submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General between 2008 and 2010.
The figures show that the HSE is the biggest re-employer of staff, and that the spend has increased six-fold in the past five years.
In 2005, it paid retired staff including doctors, nurses, dentists and administrators €2.5m. In 2010, the spending rose to €14.6m, and the agency has spent more than €38m since 2008. The investigation also reveals:
? Since 2008, the cost of re-hiring staff has reached €41.4m.
? The practice continued last year, with at least six agencies confirming they had employed former staff at a cost of more than €200,000.
? The highest-spending government department between 2008 and 2010 was Justice, which paid out almost €1.5m.
? Some 74 people were employed in 13 government departments and agencies in 2010, earning an average of €9,900 each.
? One former official was paid €35,723 by the Department of Communications for their expertise in the area of mining.
A number of bodies last night argued that retirees were re-employed because of their particular skills and experience.
The Courts Service said it used “retired, experienced” staff to conduct internal audits to ensure courts were being properly run, and that they were paid about €150 per day. This compared with a bill of up to €800 which would apply if private sector auditors were employed.
The Department of Finance said it engaged five former officers to work on various issues including the Banking Commission and the independent review of the department.
Gardai used civil servants to sit on interview panels and act as examiners.
And the Department of the Environment hired 11 officers to sit on expert groups and conduct value-for-money reviews.
The Valuation Office said that one officer was employed while a replacement was being trained.
However public sector trade union IMPACT said it was better to employ people “than bring someone back from retirement”.
Lego league Success for Galway Students with ‘Food Safety Buddy’
A group of young Galway students have emerged victorious in the First Lego League 2012 competition. The Termin8tors will now go forward to the European finals with their ‘Food Safety Buddy’ app.
A group of brothers and friends from Moycullen have emerged triumphant in the First Lego League 2012.
The group, aged nine to 14, created an educational app entitled ‘Food Safety Buddy’ for this year’s competition, which had a theme of food safety.
The ‘Termin8tors’, made up of students from various schools in the Galway area, entered the app, which helps the user shop, store and prepare food safely.
Competition was fierce with 23 other teams from all over the country vying for a place in the European finals of the competition, which will take place in Germany in June.
Following the success of last year’s winners at the global finals in St Louis, hopes are high for the 2012 Irish team who displayed an exceptionally high standard in both their Food Factor project and Robotics challenge. This came as no surprise to the judges who remarked on the consistently high standard achieved by Irish students year on year both at home and abroad.
The event took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel, which was transformed into a noisy, cauldron of energy and excitement for the day with a constant stream of robotics challenges taking place alongside interactive displays by Science Gallery, Irish Robotics and the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Trinity College Dublin.
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