Digital mammography holds few comparative advantages over traditional film screening methods of breast cancer detection, according to a study led by Anna N.A. Tosteson of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. The study, published in the Jan. 1, 2008 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, found that there was no comparative benefit for a large demographic of women, but that digital mammography proved more favorable for women under 50 and for women with dense breast tissue.
A study led by Dartmouth chemistry professor Gordon Gribble found that an anti-cancer compound developed by PhytoMedical Technologies, Inc. has the potential to kill a particular strain of human brain cancer cells, the company announced on Thursday. The chemical is significantly more effective than existing drugs, the report said, achieving a cell kill rate of 50 percent or more for a strain that is practically immune to currently available anti-cancer medications. The drug works by denaturing DNA in certain abnormal cells, and without this DNA, the cells cannot replicate, thereby precluding the onset of cancer. According to Dartmouth Technology Transfer Office director Alla Kan, "We are very happy that we found a good partner to help us bring these powerful new drugs...to the patient."
Students shopping for classes at the beginning of this term were inconvenienced when Dartmouth's Student Assembly Course Guide became inaccessible due to a miscommunication between Computing Services and the site's creator. The guide is an online resource that allows students to read their peers' reviews of College courses and professors. According to students, the guide had been down for three or four days. The Student Assembly Web Team e-mailed students yesterday afternoon to apologize for the inconvenience and to alert them that the site is now functioning correctly.
