Second Opinion LIVE!

Second Opinion Live looks at the future of robotics in medicine, with Dr. Joseph Kim; the naming of famous murmurs; and the pioneering work of endoscopist Dr. Chevalier Jackson, the subject of author Mary Cappello's book Swallow: Foreign Bodies, Their Ingestion, Inspiration, and the Curious Doctor Who Extracted Them (The New Press, 2010).

Dr. Anthony Alessi reports from Haiti, making his fifth trip there to mark the one-year anniversary of the magnitude 7 earthquake that precipitated a massive humanitarian and health crisis in that already-beleagured country. Also, Robert Egee, vice president of public policy and advocacy at the Azheimer's Association, introduces the recently signed landmark National Alzheimer's Project Act. Gary Epstein sits in for the vacationing Dr. Michael Greenberg, alongside host Dr. Matthew Birnholz.

Dr. Anthony Alessi reports from Haiti, making his fifth trip there to mark the one-year anniversary of the magnitude 7 earthquake that precipitated a massive humanitarian and health crisis in that already-beleagured country. Also, Robert Egee, vice president of public policy and advocacy at the Azheimer's Association, introduces the recently signed landmark National Alzheimer's Project Act. Gary Epstein sits in for the vacationing Dr. Michael Greenberg, alongside host Dr. Matthew Birnholz.

This week's guest is Dr. Anthony Atala, who oversees the world's largest lab devoted to bioengineering body parts, from inkjet-printed hearts to tiny livers, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He gives us an update from the cutting edge of medicine. Also, we get to the bottom line on how to protect your earnings in the coming tax year. And we talk with Dr. Marya Zilberberg about her recent article on The Healthcare Blog on medical testing and an approach toward a "less is more" philosophy of patient care.

This week's guest is Dr. Anthony Atala, who oversees the world's largest lab devoted to bioengineering body parts, from inkjet-printed hearts to tiny livers, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He gives us an update from the cutting edge of medicine. Also, we get to the bottom line on how to protect your earnings in the coming tax year. And we talk with Dr. Marya Zilberberg about her recent article on The Healthcare Blog on medical testing and an approach toward a "less is more" philosophy of patient care.

This week, hosts Drs. Matt Birnholz and Michael Greenberg wrap up 2010 with a look at the year's most notable research; as well as some notably retracted research, with Jef Akst of The Scientist; and talk with Dr. Everett Winslow Lovrien, whose book Doctor Guilt? looks at how thousands of hemophilia patients in the 1970s and 80s came to be treated with HIV-tainted medication. Plus: Just in time for your holiday parties, notable findings on cheese fondue and vodka, gleaned from the pages of the British Medical Journal's Christmas issue.

This week, hosts Drs. Matt Birnholz and Michael Greenberg wrap up 2010 with a look at the year's most notable research; as well as some notably retracted research, with Jef Akst of The Scientist; and talk with Dr. Everett Winslow Lovrien, whose book Doctor Guilt? looks at how thousands of hemophilia patients in the 1970s and 80s came to be treated with HIV-tainted medication. Plus: Just in time for your holiday parties, notable findings on cheese fondue and vodka, gleaned from the pages of the British Medical Journal's Christmas issue.

On this week's program, hosts Dr. Matthew Birnholz and Dr. Michael Greenberg welcome Jennifer Ackerman, author of Ah-Choo! The Uncommon Life of the Common Cold, to talk about the history of what we know about this most successful human pathogen.

Plus, the "nudge": Britain's new kinder, gentler approach to public health. Is nudging better than legislation to persuade people to engage in healthier behaviors? Or do we need more of a shove than a nudge? What should the government do to foster the public health?

Our guest is Frank Britt, president and CEO of medical education provider Pri-Med, with us to talk about Pri-Med's new Open Network initiative, designed to bring new models for delivering education to the practicing clinician. Plus: medical jargon. Do you talk up or down to your patients? Are there terms that should never be said in front of patients? And, we're bringing back some medical terms that nobody's used in so long, they've practically disappeared altogether.

Our guest is Frank Britt, president and CEO of medical education provider Pri-Med, with us to talk about Pri-Med's new Open Network initiative, designed to bring new models for delivering education to the practicing clinician. Plus: medical jargon. Do you talk up or down to your patients? Are there terms that should never be said in front of patients? And, we're bringing back some medical terms that nobody's used in so long, they've practically disappeared altogether.