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“Even small amounts of lead in toys can be ingested when transferred from fingers to mouth or from fingers to food,” said Dr. Helen Binns, a lead expert and professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Lead harms the developing brain and is easily ingested through normal hand-to-mouth behaviors. Beware of these two fidget spinners, as they have dangerous amounts of lead,” Binns said.

Young black gay men are 16 times more likely to have HIV than whites, even though they have fewer partners, have less unsafe sex, and get tested for HIV more often, a new study shows.

“Our study illuminates how HIV disparities emerge from complex social and sexual networks and inequalities in access to medical care for those who are HIV-positive,” said senior study author Brian Mustanski. He is director of the Northwestern Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

“Their social and sexual networks are more dense and interconnected, which from an infectious disease standpoint makes infections transmitted more efficiently through the group,” Mustanski explained in a university news release.

“In the U.S., we’re in a skin cancer epidemic, which is driven by excessive UV exposure,” noted study author Dr. Steve (Shuai) Xu. He is a dermatology instructor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Thus, this technology would be useful for the majority of individuals by empowering them to know how much UV they are actually getting,” he said. So, what does it look like and how does it work? Xu said the device weighs less than a single tic tac, is half the diameter of a dime, and thinner than a credit card.

“In the U.S., we’re in a skin cancer epidemic, which is driven by excessive UV exposure,” noted study author Dr. Steve (Shuai) Xu. He is a dermatology instructor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Thus, this technology would be useful for the majority of individuals by empowering them to know how much UV they are actually getting,” he said. So, what does it look like and how does it work? Xu said the device weighs less than a single tic tac, is half the diameter of a dime, and thinner than a credit card.

This useful info comes courtesy of a tiny sensor developed by Northwestern researchers John A. Rogers and Dr. Steve Xu that can stick to your skin or clip onto your hat. “It’s smaller than a dime, thinner than a credit card,” says Xu, “and you can stick it or clip it anywhere, which allows people to customize it.” His favorite application? Using the sensor as nail art. (Scientists love the fingernail as a vehicle for a wearable device, he says, because it’s stable, durable and can stand up to adhesives.)

Seven hospitals in Illinois are among 118 hospitals across the U.S. included in Leapfrog Group’s annual list of the nation’s highest-quality hospitals. In Chicago, the winners include Northwestern Memorial Hospital, University of Chicago Medical Center, Amita Health Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center and Amita Health Resurrection Medical Center. Also making the list are OSF Holy Family Medical Center in Monmouth in western Illinois, Elmhurst Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva.

Seven Illinois hospitals are among the top 118 in the country, though two of Chicago’s most well-known institutions didn’t make the cut, according to the nonprofit Leapfrog Group’s annual list.

The seven hospitals are Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Elmhurst Hospital, Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva, OSF Holy Family Medical Center in Monmouth, Amita Health Resurrection Medical Center Chicago, Amita Health Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center Chicago, and University of Chicago Medical Center.

Seven Illinois hospitals – including four in Chicago – are among the best in the nation, according to The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit watchdog. The group’s 2018 Top Hospitals list recognizes a total of 118 hospitals across the country, organized into four categories. Hospitals in Illinois are represented in all but one category: top children’s hospitals. Top General Hospitals: Elmhurst Memorial Hospital; Northwestern Delnor Hospital (Geneva); Top Teaching Hospitals: AMITA Health Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center Chicago (formerly Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth); AMITA Health Resurrection Medical Center Chicago (formerly Presence Resurrection); Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago); The University of Chicago Medical Center

“We have known for a long time, 20 to 25 years, that the gonorrhea bacteria may be resistant to several antibiotics including penicillin, but the rate of resistance to traditional treatment has hastened in recent years,” said Dr. Frank Palella, a professor of infectious diseases at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Currently, the CDC recommends a combination drug therapy of two different antibiotics in the form of an intramuscular shot and a pill — plus azithromycin or doxycycline.

“These people are inspirational,” said Jenny Conviser, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “And it’s true that if you see somebody managing something that is challenging and managing it well, they can inspire and motivate and help us remember that it’s possible to go there.”[…]Conviser says the rest of us can emulate such winter warriors in small ways: remain active, take charge of the situation, stay warm and take care of ourselves emotionally. That might be as simple as taking a walk, making a snow angel or enjoying the sight of your dog rolling in the snow, Conviser said.