Media Coverage

No, You Won’t Catch the New Coronavirus Via Packages or Mail from China

In an era of online shopping and global shipping, some NPR listeners have written to us with this question: Am I at risk of catching the new coronavirus from a package I receive from China?
Infectious disease specialists we spoke with were even more definitive. “It’s not going to be transported on a box,” says Dr. Michael Ison of Northwestern University, who studies viral infections among transplant patients, who have weakened immune systems.

Stopping deadly virus is Illinois scientist’s goal

Northwestern University professor Karla Satchell is one of the scientists around the world racing to stop a new and deadly coronavirus. She’s working with a team investigating the virus structure to halt it from replicating in human cells

Northwestern University professor leading research team trying to stop coronavirus: ‘We are here specifically for this.’

Karla Satchell, a professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, is leading a team of U.S. and Canadian researchers to examine the atomic structure of the virus, which originated in Wuhan, China, in the Hubei province. Satchell leads the Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, a consortium of nine labs at eight schools collaborating on this effort.

Scientists are unraveling the Chinese coronavirus with unprecedented speed and openness

At unprecedented speed, scientists are starting experiments, sharing data and revealing the secrets of the pathogen — a race that is made possible by new scientific tools and cultural norms in the face of a public health emergency.

“The pace is unmatched,” said Karla Satchell, a professor of microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

A Placebo for Pain Relief—Even When You Know It’s Not Real

Vania Apkarian, director of the Center for Translational Pain Research at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, studies which patients respond to placebo. In a 2016 study in the journal PLOS Biology, he used brain scans to identify the regions in the brain that can predict a response to placebo in 56 chronic knee osteoarthritis pain patients compared with 20 control patients.

Probiotics: Don’t Buy the Online Hype

Many people turn to the internet with health questions, but how reliable is the information you find? When it comes to probiotics, a new study urges caution.

Nearly 20 Years Later, Cancer Rates Higher in 9/11 First Responders

Nearly two decades after terrorists attacked New York’s World Trade Center, certain cancers are striking police and recovery workers who saved lives, recovered bodies and cleaned up the wreckage.

Most people wait too long for knee replacement surgery, study says

Living with knee pain? A new study has found that 90% of Americans with osteoarthritis suffer too long before having a knee replacement that could improve their quality of life.
“When people wait too long, they lose more and more function and can’t exercise or be active, thus leaving them open to weight gain, depression and other health problems,” said lead investigator Hassan Ghomrawi, associate professor of surgery at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

Which Teens View Vaping as a Health Threat? Survey Offers Clues

“One of the challenges with educational efforts aimed at getting youth to stop using e-cigarettes or preventing them from starting is that many believe e-cigarettes are harmless,” said study lead author Dr. Thanh-Huyen Vu. She’s a research assistant professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Slimming Down ‘Tongue Fat’ Might Help Ease Sleep Apnea

The findings are “not really surprising,” said Dr. Sabra Abbott, an assistant professor of sleep medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Given the nature of sleep apnea, she said, it makes sense that such changes in the anatomy of the upper airways would improve symptoms.