Media Coverage

A tiny button that can save you from sunburn — Northwestern researchers release a next-wave UV sensor

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 Illinois hospitals among top 118 in the nation

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.

7 Illinois Hospitals Among Best in the Country, Watchdog Group Says

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

Looking at winter through the eyes of Chicagoans who bike in blizzards and surf Lake Michigan

“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.

Teens need a strong, and large, support system. Here’s how to help them build it.

Friends also can guard against what is often a teenager’s biggest enemy – her own mind. “The teen years are a particularly vulnerable time for the development of certain types of mental health difficulties,” including depression, Karen Gouze, a director at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, wrote in an email. “Research clearly demonstrates the importance of social supports and engagement with others as a protective factor against depression.”

Racial disparity in U.S. heart rhythm treatment suggests bias in medicine

What’s particularly striking about the findings is that the “data set in question is one that reflects the ideal care model,” said Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study. “And after controlling for as many things as you can there is still this nagging difference that unfortunately tracks to the race of the patient.” The new research means that all of us “finally have to acknowledge the perverse influence of subconscious bias,” said Yancy. “We should be aware of this and institute strategies that allow us to acknowledge this is operative in decision making and see ways to overcome it.”

Smoking bans tied to lower blood pressure in non-smokers

“Since secondhand smoke has been found to negatively affect the functioning of blood vessels, our results suggest that smoke-free policies help to protect non-smokers from these effects,” said study leader Stephanie Mayne of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, in email to Reuters Health. It’s not clear why the smoking bans were not linked to reductions in diastolic blood pressure or the risk of developing high blood pressure, said Mayne, who did the study while at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.