Read article – Quotes Steven Fiering, professor of microbiology and immunology and of genetics, about a new approach to treat cancer called the in situ vaccination. “The goal of in situ vaccination is to take an immunosuppressive tumor and put in something that is highly recognized by the immune system,” says Fiering.

Listen to story – Quotes Ellen Flaherty, assistant professor of medicine, community and family medicine, and of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, in an article about how an audit of Pennsylvania nursing homes warns that staffing levels at these facilities are insufficient and on track to get worse. “Nursing home direct care workers are currently, and have been historically, underpaid. And that is part, I think, of the reason why people choose to work in other environments and other places,” says Flaherty.

Read article – Continued coverage of an opinion piece by Steven Woloshin, professor of medicine, community and family medicine, and of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about how drug companies filed a successful lawsuit blocking the Department of Health and Human Services’ rule requiring drug commercials on television to disclose the “list price” of the medication being advertised.

Read article – Quotes Douglas Robertson, professor of medicine and of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, about guidelines released last year by the American Cancer Society suggesting that people should begin screening for colorectal cancer at age 45. “Screening is always a trade-off with benefit and harm,” says Robertson. “The trade-off is that as you go to younger and younger age groups, the absolute risk for getting or dying from cancer is lower, so more and more people would need to be screened to find the one case of colorectal cancer hiding in these younger age groups.”

Read article – Continued coverage of comments by James Dinulos, clinical associate professor of surgery, about a new study that found that complications after skin cancer surgery may be more common in smokers and former smokers.

Read article – An opinion piece by Carrie Colla, associate professor of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, in which she discusses the complexity of improving American healthcare. “Politicians in office and on the campaign trail offer silver bullets and suggest no one will have to compromise. This simply isn’t the case; our recent study shows yet again why silver bullet thinking is misguided,” says Colla. “Real spending reduction in healthcare will require tradeoffs along at least one dimension: access, patient experience and choice, or quality.” (Colla is participating in this year’s Dartmouth Public Voices project.)

Read article – Quotes James Dinulos, clinical associate professor of surgery, about a new study that found that complications after skin cancer surgery may be more common in smokers and former smokers. “Smoking adversely impacts the early phases of wound healing, leading to increased complications that were outlined in the study,” says Dinulos, who wasn’t involved in the study. “It is likely that chemicals in smoke impact the integrity of the skin over the long-term, especially if the patient is a high pack-year smoker, and some of the physiological changes may not be reversible.” (Picked up by Physician’s Weekly, Business Standard, Pledge Times.)

Read article – Continued coverage of a feature story about former astronaut Jay Buckey, professor of medicine and adjunct professor of engineering, who in 1998 went on a space mission to study how entering and leaving space affects the nervous system and brain. Today, Buckey continues to conduct research for NASA and also runs the clinical hyperbaric oxygen program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. As the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing approaches, Buckey hopes it will rekindle a sense of awe about space travel.

View story – A segment featuring former astronaut Jay Buckey, professor of medicine and adjunct professor of engineering, in which he discusses spending 16 days in orbit studying the effects of space on the body, and reflects on Saturday’s 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Buckey said he views the 50th anniversary of the moon landing as an opportunity to excite a generation about the power of science, and to chart bold goals for achievement.

View story – A segment featuring former astronaut Jay Buckey, professor of medicine and adjunct professor of engineering, in which he reflects on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and his time on a space shuttle 21 years ago to conduct biomedical research. “Fifty years ago, when the Apollo program was landing on the moon, I was a 13-year-old boy at that time, and I thought the space program was the greatest thing ever,” says Buckey. “To me, it represented the future.”