Here’s one way to think outside the ‘tox. Botox is a brand name for a purified form of botulinum toxin A, a protein that temporarily paralyzes muscles by blocking the nerve signals that cause them to contract. The injections are used for everything from smoothing wrinkles to easing chronic migraines and relaxing overactive bladder muscles. … Read more
Being 14 is hard enough, let alone in the middle of a public health crisis. So when Liliana “Lili” Castaneda began experiencing strange symptoms in the spring of 2020, her local doctor chalked it up to “pandemic stress.” But things only got worse — and it wasn’t all in her head. Liliana “Lili” Castaneda began … Read more
CHICAGO — I’m no Bryan Johnson, but I was feeling pretty confident when I strolled into the Northwestern Medicine Human Longevity Clinic in July. I’ve taken several aging tests over the past year to learn how my cells and systems are functioning. One pinpointed my biological age at 29 and another at 36, which is … Read more
These seniors are having a moment. Life expectancy in the US hovers around 78.4 years — there’s a special group of people who surpass this mark with flying colors. The retirees, known as “SuperAgers,” exhibit the memory and cognitive abilities of people in middle age. A new report out of Northwestern University reveals unique traits … Read more
Warning: This story might seriously tick you off. Nearly 31 million Americans are bitten every year by tiny, blood-sucking parasites — and 2025 is no different. Emergency room visits for tick bites are surging nationwide, with July numbers hitting their highest point since 2017, according to the CDC’s Tick Bite Data Tracker. Ticks are most active … Read more
As if growing up in one of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods wasn’t hard enough, Darryl Hall was born with a rare condition that caused a foul odor to ooze from his pores as a teenager. “I was already getting bullied a lot in school just based off of how I looked and how my condition … Read more
Pore decisions, indeed. It’s no secret that young girls are obsessed with beauty — just look at the popularity of “get ready with me” videos on social media. In a survey last year, over three in four parents (76%) reported that their 7- to 17-year-old girls have a “skincare routine.” Young girls are spending big … Read more
The world’s tiniest pacemaker — smaller than a grain of rice — could help save babies born with heart defects, say scientists. The miniature device can be inserted with a syringe and dissolves after it’s no longer needed. Although it can work with hearts of all sizes, the engineers who created it at Northwestern University … Read more
You may need a shower after hearing the results of this eye-opening study. Northwestern University researchers identified more than 600 different viruses on 92 showerhead and 34 toothbrush samples — and no two samples were alike. “The number of viruses that we found is absolutely wild,” said indoor microbiologist Erica M. Hartmann, who led the study. “We … Read more
The Evanston Health and Human Services Department is investigating a norovirus outbreak linked to a $1-burrito event for Northwestern University students. The “$1 Burrito event” for Northwestern University students took place last Saturday between 1 and 8 p.m. with Big Wig Tacos. The city’s health department began receiving complaints on Monday from students who reported experiencing stomach cramps, vomiting, and … Read more
College students, rejoice — your all-nighters may have more benefits than earning you an A. That all-too-familiar “wired but tired” feeling due to lack of sleep for just one night might actually have antidepressant results, according to a study conducted by a team from Northwestern University. While chronic sleep deprivation has been studied at length, scientists … Read more
College freshman Ryan Abele had a bright future. In high school in Concord, Calif., the 18-year-old had been a baseball player with a 3.94 GPA. In 2016, he enrolled at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he planned to major in broadcast journalism and was excited about joining a fraternity. “It was something that he … Read more