Media Coverage

Lindsey Vonn Almost Had to Have Her Leg Amputated

Anatomy plays a role in the likelihood of developing this complication.

“The lower legs are comprised of four distinct compartments, or fixed-volume layers that contain muscles, nerves and blood vessels,” said Vehniah Tjong, an orthopedic sports medicine surgeon with Northwestern Medicine. Tjong described these compartments as being similar to “metal cylinders that don’t have any give, so when things that don’t belong build up, there’s no escape.”

The Science Behind the ‘Super-Ager’ Brain

This research marks the first discovery of a genetic difference between super-agers and typical older adults, according to the Northwestern SuperAging Program.

“These people are in their 80s and 90s, and suddenly you’re seeing that they still have immature neurons that are rewiring themselves,” said program co-director Tamar Gefen, who is also a co-author of the study. “There is no question that their hippocampi [are] completely different than other human beings’, period.”

Some 80-year-olds Still Have Razor-sharp Brains — And Now Scientists Know Why

Older adults classified as “SuperAgers” generate at least twice as many neurons in the hippocampus than their typical aging peers, a new study has revealed. The SuperAgers also had different genetic activity patterns in their brains compared to those in Alzheimer’s disease.

“SuperAgers have more immature neurons and neuroblasts in the hippocampus, which is an indication of stronger neurogenesis when compared with other groups,” study co-author Changiz Geula, research professor of cell and developmental biology and neuroscience at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital.

Super-Agers’ Brains Have a Special Ability, New Study Suggests

Many people’s brains deteriorate as they age, becoming riddled with malfunctioning proteins that result in cell death and the loss of memory and cognition. But other people’s brains remain almost perfectly intact, their thinking as sharp at 80 as it was in their 50s.

“This paper shows biological proof that the aging brain is plastic,” even into a person’s 80s, said Tamar Gefen, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who contributed to the research.

If Social Platforms Are Harmful, Don’t Just Ban Kids. Regulate the Harms

As major social media companies head to court this year to defend themselves against claims that their products have harmed young people’s mental health, policymakers are searching for decisive responses. The lawsuits, which focus on whether platforms knowingly designed addictive, psychologically harmful systems for youth, are bringing long-avoided questions into public view: Who bears responsibility for online harm? And what, exactly, should be done about it?

This is an op-ed written by Jessica Schleider, PhD.

Northwestern Rewrites the Rules on Lung Cancer Screening

Lung cancer is widely considered one of the deadliest cancers because nearly 80% of cases aren’t discovered until they’ve reached advanced stages.

Dr. Ankit Bharat, chief of thoracic surgery and executive director of the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, says that, unlike breast and colon cancers, for which screening is conducted based on the age of a patient, lung cancer screening is still recommended based on the risk a patient is perceived to face.

Scientists discover a key to staying mentally sharp in old age

People who have razor-sharp minds in their 80s and 90s — known as “SuperAgers” — produce twice the number of young neurons as cognitively healthy adults and 2.5 times as many as people with Alzheimer’s disease, a new study found.

“This shows the aging brain has the capacity to regenerate — that’s huge,” said study coauthor Dr. Tamar Gefen, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Mesulam Institute for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

US Child, Teen Obesity Rates Reach Record High

Dr. Justin Ryder, an associate professor of surgery and pediatrics at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, said he’s cautiously optimistic about the slight decrease. However, he added that it remains to be seen whether this is a blip or if the decrease is indicative of a longer-term trend.

“We’ve seen dips in the past and typically, when they do, in the next reporting period it goes right back up,” Ryder told ABC News. “And that’s because of how the sampling is done. This is a random sample of U.S. adults.”

What Happened in Chicago When Science Became the Enemy

In April, the federal government froze some $790 million in funding for Northwestern, without notice or explanation. The university was apparently being accused of antisemitism and of racism over its diversity initiatives, but it was unclear whether the freeze was related to those charges, and no one seemed to know when, or whether, or how the funds would be restored.

‘Birdbrain’ benefits: How being an expert birdwatcher may boost cognition

Expert birders showed structural brain differences compared with novices — regardless of age.

The study doesn’t prove that birding prevents cognitive decline. Still, the results suggest that birding may support brain health in older adults, said Molly Mather, a clinical psychologist at the Mesulam Institute for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, part of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.