In today’s installment of “Inside and Out,” we meet Mario – a young guy who grew up steeped in violence. He took two bullets at age nine, suffered abuse at home, was hit by a car, beaten with a brick, and forced to bury some of his closest relatives. Until just a few years ago, the way Mario coped with all that baggage was by dealing out violence of his own. He’s a case study in how trauma can affect the behaviors and brains of young people. The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice is beginning to incorporate an understanding of those affects into its practices and programs.

It’s important to note that this science is relatively new – the brain research in particular has really flowered in just the last decade or so. As the science has advanced, so has an interesting controversy over how to diagnose this condition in young people. The closest thing to an established diagnosis is post-traumatic-stress-disorder. But that’s problematic for a kid like Mario. Trauma experts like Carl Bell and Bessel van der Kolk (fun fact – his son Nick works for Vocalo and blogs here regularly!) say PTSD better describes someone who has a “normal” state of development, which is then affected by a trauma – as in an adult soldier exposed to combat. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo: WBEZ/Andrew Gill

When I first saw a live taping of “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me,” two things surprised me. One was that Carl Kasell was actually present in the flesh. Somehow I had assumed that the guy was beamed in. Or that they’d roll out an old-timey radio on a cart and his voice would simply amble out. The second surprise was how spry Carl is. As his name was announced, he loped athletically onstage, a tall and wiry septuagenarian.

But when Carl sat down in our studio with me to reflect on his long career, I’m pleased to say I was not surprised. He was exactly as genteel, warm and good-natured as you’d expect him to be. To mark the day of his final Morning Edition newscast, we present this special extended version of that interview.

Also, here is his farewell message from his final newscast this morning.

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Among this week’s Least Popular Americans, along with Rev. Fred Phelps, Rex Grossman’s dad and FAA tech support, we might count the United States Preventive Services Task Force. That group released new guidelines on screening mammograms, recommending that women start regular mammograms at 50 rather than 40, and get them every two years instead of annually.

The change has been met with a jet of venom from advocates, many medical professionals and much of the general public. Chicago has an interesting place in this controversy – we’ve been hearing the national dust-up all week, and now here’s a look at what this means for our part of the world. Read the rest of this entry →

It’s clear that despite some jitters, many more people want the H1N1 swine flu vaccine than can get it so far. Reports from the first round of mass vaccinations in Chicago told of long lines, all-day waits and hundreds turned away. Round two came yesterday, and so I went. I was eager to witness the mass hysteria, riots and cannibalism sure to ensue, as people clamored for the scarce shots and nose spritzers.

I did not find that. Instead, I found basically a bunch of pretty reasonable, patient people who understand that the health workers are doing the best they can with limited resources. That’s not to say people weren’t disappointed. I arrived at Truman College at about 4:00 p.m., just as they were starting to turn people away. The clinic was supposed to be open form 3:00 – 8:00 p.m., to accommodate working stiffs who couldn’t get there during the day. But all the doses were maxed out within an hour of opening the doors.

The line at Truman College yesterday.

One reason that people seemed largely to take this in stride is the fact that people got a number when they arrived, and when the numbers ran out, people were simply told to come back next time. Whereas on Saturday some waited in line for hours before they learned there were no more doses, this time people knew as soon as they arrived whether they’d get the shot or not. Dr. Julie Morita, who heads up the immunization program for the Chicago Department of Public Health, told me earlier this week that this was a “lesson learned” from Saturday. My limited observations bear that out.

At the site, there were a number of people in orange vests running crowd control and answering questions. I discovered that these are not just nurses and outreach workers: one was a psychologist. Another works in Accounts Payable. They are just people who work for the public health department who volunteered to help out with the big push. I’m told they maintained a little skeleton crew back at headquarters, and that most others were out lending a hand. It was sort of touching.

A volunteer informs patients there is no more vaccine for the day.

These clinics are scheduled to continue Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays indefinitely. Health officials are asking people who have a primary care doctor to get the vaccine at their doctor’s office if you can, saving the city’s doses for people who have no other option. Wait times will surely decrease as more people are vaccinated, but for now, expect long lines. And if you work weekdays, don’t count on being able to take advantage of the evening hours for a while. Consider coming early – very early – on Saturdays. Also, don’t forget that all these doses are still supposed to be going only to people in priority groups: young people age 6 months to 24 years, pregnant women, people caring for young infants, health care workers and people with underlying conditions.

Find more information on getting vaccinated here.

When we reporters go out and get stories, we use electricity. This electricity comes from batteries. These batteries die, and get tossed into boxes back here at the WBEZ mothership. These boxes pile up … um, for years. In sum: we now have a modest-sized superfund site in the middle of our newsroom.

I have watched the batteries pile up with morbid fascination. I have idly wondered: How much toxic waste is in there? How many birth defects could we cause? How many fish could we mutate, if we felt like it? And what the heck do we do with all of them?

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is sponsoring a household hazardous waste collection event this weekend in the northwest suburbs, where they accept disposable batteries, among other things. So I thought this was as good a time as any to investigate.

The first task was to get a handle on the volume. This was accomplished with a bathroom scale, and documented by our crack multimedia team.

I confess, the results surprised even me. We have accumulated 184.4 lbs of used batteries. Now these aren’t sealed in a drum in a storage area some where. These are on the shelves near the CD labels – plus a hefty stockpile in Ammad Omar’s cubicle (read: haz-mat disposal site). OK, now to find out how much mercury and sundry heavy metals are in one pound of AA batteries, multiply that by 184.4 pounds, and get one big scary number.

Read the rest of this entry →

In Greek mythology, the mighty Lapiths had their butts handed to them by the centaurs. My question is this: what were you thinking, Lapiths? I mean, they’re centaurs. They have horse bodies and man-heads. No way you’re gonna beat that.

Similarly, sort of, we’re now confronting a hybrid little beastie of our own. The 2009 H1N1 flu virus is a crazy chimera of a thing. It is the love child of three species-specific viruses, a bird-pig-person germ. We might ask, how does this happen? And what makes it different from the regular flu?

Well, I’m here to tell you something you may not know about viruses: they are promiscuous as hell. And here’s something you may not know about pigs: they are little biological swingers clubs.

Flu viruses don’t have DNA like many organisms – their genetic material is carried in strands of RNA. And, that RNA is divided up into little discrete segments. When viruses get to all bumpin’ and rubbin’ up on each other in a host cell, they freely swap these segments around. Filthy little buggers. The results of this, according to University of Chicago infectious disease expert Kenneth Alexander, is usually … nothing. Most of the products of such unholy coupling are just failed viruses. But occasionally, you’ll get a combination that works, and a new kind of virus survives and starts copying itself.

That’s where pigs come in. They have the peculiar property of being subject not just to swine flu, but also bird flu and human flu. So all those viruses can mix freely in the pig’s cells, and we can wind up with a hybrid H1N1 with genes from all three variants. In this case, that variant happens to be transferrable from person to person.

Unlike seasonal flu, we are now passing around a novel strain. That means none of us has been exposed before, so we don’t have any acquired immunity. True, the seasonal flu tends to mutate from year to year too, but the strains are usually similar enough that we keep at least some of our past immunity. This also means that otherwise healthy adults may be at risk from pandemic flu, whereas with seasonal flu the concern tends to focus on the elderly and the very young. Seasonal flu can still do a number on you: an average of 36,000 Americans die of it every year, according to the CDC. The fear is that if pandemic swine flu were to really get out of control, and possibly grow more virulent, the mortality rate could get ugly. No sign of that for now, but if we learn one thing from the Lapiths, it’s not to underestimate your enemy.

In Greek mythology, the mighty Lapiths had their butts handed to them by the centaurs. My question is this: what were you thinking, Lapiths? I mean, they’re centaurs. They have horse bodies and man-heads. No way you’re gonna beat that.

Similarly, sort of, we’re now confronting a hybrid little beastie of our own. The 2009 H1N1 flu virus is a crazy chimera of a thing. It is the love child of three species-specific viruses, a bird-pig-person germ. We might ask, how does this happen? And what makes it different from the regular flu?

Well, I’m here to tell you something you may not know about viruses: they are promiscuous as hell. And here’s something you may not know about pigs: they are little biological swingers clubs.

Flu viruses don’t have DNA like many organisms – their genetic material is carried in strands of RNA. And, that RNA is divided up into little discrete segments. When viruses get to all bumpin’ and rubbin’ up on each other in a host cell, they freely swap these segments around. Filthy little buggers. The results of this, according to University of Chicago infectious disease expert Kenneth Alexander, is usually … nothing. Most of the products of such unholy coupling are just failed viruses. But occasionally, you’ll get a combination that works, and a new kind of virus survives and starts copying itself.

That’s where pigs come in. They have the peculiar property of being subject not just to swine flu, but also bird flu and human flu. So all those viruses can mix freely in the pig’s cells, and we can wind up with a hybrid H1N1 with genes from all three variants. In this case, that variant happens to be transferrable from person to person.

Unlike seasonal flu, we are now passing around a novel strain. That means none of us has been exposed before, so we don’t have any acquired immunity. True, the seasonal flu tends to mutate from year to year too, but the strains are usually similar enough that we keep at least some of our past immunity. This also means that otherwise healthy adults may be at risk from pandemic flu, whereas with seasonal flu the concern tends to focus on the elderly and the very young. Seasonal flu can still do a number on you: an average of 36,000 Americans die of it every year, according to the CDC. The fear is that if pandemic swine flu were to really get out of control, and possibly grow more virulent, the mortality rate could get ugly. No sign of that for now, but if we learn one thing from the Lapiths, it’s not to underestimate your enemy.

The “Inaugural” ball at Madison Elementary (74th and Dorchester).

Lunch is served at Madison Elementary on Chicago’s South side.

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This week I got what we call in the biz a “plum assignment.” I joined a group of Chicago-area teachers aboard a jet designed to create weightless conditions. It does this by parabolic flight – a steep climb followed by a controlled nosedive. The crest of each hill produces weightlessness … the trough produces 1.8 Gs of pressure (meaning, you weigh almost twice as much as usual).

The ostensible purpose of this trip is to promote science and math education in schools (and to drum up good PR for its corporate sponsor, the defense contractor Northop Grumman). Teachers brought aboard simple science experiments – a basketball and hoop, stuffed animals suspended by rubber bands, etc. Most of these experiments were swiftly abandoned in favor of superman flight, backflips and manic giggling. Here’s what it was like (complete with videos!). Read the rest of this entry →