When a red flag is flying, the color should stop beachgoers from testing out the water along Chicago’s shores. A green flag means ‘go.’ In reality, however, the flag color is based on bacteria tests performed yesterday and today’s water safety is still a mystery.

But now the guessing game is over, at least at Chicago’s 63rd Street Beach. This summer marks the beginning of a pilot program designed to better judge whether the water is safe for swimming.

The Chicago Department of Public Health's soon to be released Tuberculosis Morbidity Report for 2007 shows a downward trend in TB cases throughout Chicago.

But the proportion of cases among foreign-born Chicagoans is growing.

Of all TB cases reported in 2007, 51.4 percent occurred among foreign-born Chicago residents, compared with 45.2 percent a year earlier. Last year, there were 20.8 cases of TB per 100,000 foreign-born residents compared with a 2006 figure of 21.1 cases per 100,000.

The deadly Giant Yellow Israeli Scorpion may be one key to boosting the accuracy of brain tumor removal in cases involving children.

Chlorotoxin, a tumor paint made out of this scorpion's venom, is just one surgical development presented this week at the 13th International Symposium on Pediatric Neuro-Oncology, held at the Chicago Marriott Downtown.

 You can't flip through a magazine or change the channel these days without noticing the dozens of advertisements highlighting the newest prescription drug for depression or a blockbuster pill that treats both good and bad cholesterol.

This form of advertising, used widely by both big-name and small pharmaceutical companies, is called direct-to-consumer advertising, or DTCA, and it's ruffling some feathers among doctors.

Shoppers looking forward to farmers markets for a break in their grocery bills may be disappointed this season, especially if they rely on a LINK card – food stamps – as their primary source for their food budget.

Sci+Health

Experts say 'death-defying' culture contributes to underused Hospice in Illinois

Jun 13, 08

by Whitney Jackson and Nafis Ahmed | 1 Comment

Illinois is failing aging population, draining Medicare dollars with inefficient end-of-life care system, healthcare authorities say

Celeste Jacques, a retired third-grade teacher, wanted to die at home in her own bed, not in a hospital. And she made sure her only child knew it.

University of Chicago doctors told Jacques in December 2006 that she had a weak heart valve and less than one year to live. At age 90, her arthritis and chronically high blood pressure made it too risky to operate. Her daughter, Jackie Pope, didn’t hesitate to enroll her in home hospice.

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Sci+Health

Midwest law firms ride the alternative energy wave

Jun 12, 08

by Leena Krishnaswamy | Discuss

The boom in alternative energies is creating new growth opportunities for Midwest law firms willing to expand their expertise into the so-called clean energy sector.

Jim Greenberger, a Chicago partner at the law firm Reed Smith LLP who has practiced private equity law for more than 30 years, made the leap into clean technology. He and his team financed a large-scale wind farm in central Illinois and are currently working with the developer of the largest solar power energy project in California.

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