A new study by researchers at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands says the best way to avoid warts is to, well, avoid family and friends. Not really, but the researchers did find conclude that the top mode of transmission for warts wasn't things like dips in dubious swimming pools or traipsing barefoot in even more dubious communal showers. It was hanging out with family and friends who already have the unsightly lumps of skin cells gone wild.

The prospective study looked at 1,000 children ages 4 to 12 (who were asked to keep track of when they or people they knew got warts) and found they were most likely to get warts if somebody close to them had them, as well.

The actual cause, of course, is the human papillomavirus, a nasty family of microbes that's also linked to various cancers and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The research said nothing about the more pressing issue of foolproof methods for getting rid of warts. Not that there's a lack of advice. A Google query "How do you get rid of warts?" turned up 1,080,000 hits.

These recommendations range from salicylic acid and cryotherapy (freezing) to cold-pressed castor cream and good old duct tape. A Cochrane Review in 2012 examined almost 90 studies of wart treatments and then declared that salicylic acid produced a modest therapeutic value, but cryotherapy wasn't much better than just waiting for the warts to go away on their own.

And duct tape? It does a lot of things well. Removing warts isn't one of them.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

In a fetal brain, nerve cells develop at an average rate of 250,000 per minute.

LIFE IN BIG MACS

One hour of having your nails done by someone else burns 68 calories (based on a 150-pound person) or the equivalent of 0.1 Big Macs.

DOC TALK

Palp — Refers to taking a blood pressure reading under emergency conditions when listening for the systolic and diastolic pressures through a stethoscope is impossible. Instead, the measurement is taken by feeling (palpation) the pulse.

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Chaetophobia — fear of hair

NEVER SAY DIET

The Major League Eating speed-eating record for pepperoni and cheese pizza slices is 252 (2.25 pounds) in six minutes, held by Bob Shoudt. Warning: Most of these records are held by professional eaters; the rest by people who really should find something better to do.

OBSERVATION

"If you ever have to support a flagging conversation, introduce the topic of eating." —Leigh Hunt

LAST WORDS

"I don't mind if my life goes in the service of the nation. If I die today every drop of my blood will invigorate the nation." —Indira Gandhi (1917-1984), the night before she was assassinated by Sikh militants

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.