Wellnews by Scott LaFee

There are roughly 1.5 million known species of fungus in the world, but only a few hundred are pathogenic to mammals. That is, they pose a health hazard. And in most of these cases, the resulting infection is the consequence of an impaired immune function.

By comparison, an estimated 270,000 fungal species afflict plants and 50,000 species infect insects. It is a fungal disease called chytridiomycosis that is being blamed for the decimation of amphibian populations around the world.

So what makes mammals, humans included, semi-impervious to the harms of fungus? Answer: We eat a lot. Or rather, say researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York City, we eat a lot because we're warmblooded with high metabolisms.

"Fungal strains undergo a major loss of ability to grow as they move to mammalian temperatures (the familiar 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit)," said Dr. Arturo Casadevall, who conducted the pertinent research with the Netherlands-based Fungal Biodiversity Center.

"Our study makes the argument that our warm temperatures may have evolved to protect us against fungal diseases. And being warmblooded and therefore largely resistant to fungal infections may help explain the dominance of mammals after the age of dinosaurs."

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

Men with mustaches may be allergic to their own lip hair. That's because mustaches can harbor airborne pollens that trigger allergies.

NUMBER CRUNCHER

A serving of hush puppies (deep-fried cornmeal bread: 5 pieces or 78 grams) contains 257 calories, 104 from fat.

It has 11.6 grams of total fat or 18 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 135 milligrams of cholesterol (45 percent); 965 mg of sodium (40 percent); 34.9 grams of total carbohydrates (12 percent); and 4.9 g of protein.

LIFE IN BIG MACS

One hour of carrying a small child burns 204 calories (based on a 150-pound person) or the equivalent of 0.3 Big Macs.

MEDTRONICA

World Wide Wounds

www.worldwidewounds.com

This is a serious site dedicated to tending wounds. It's intended primarily for working nurses, but if you really want to know more about, say, "the pathophysiology of vulnerable skin," you can read it here.

STORIES FOR THE WAITING ROOM

All of the following are or have been considered aphrodisiacs, though documented evidence of their efficacy remains as sketchy as the original notion: sheep's eyelid marinated in hot tea (China); toad excrement (France); live monkey brain (Malaysia); arsenic (England); hot peppers (Central America); dolphin testicles (Japan).

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Alliumphobia — fear of garlic

OBSERVATION

The only thing that can stop hair falling is the floor.

— American humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935)

EPITAPHS

Once I wasn't

Then I was

Now I ain't again.

— Cleveland

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.

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