No matter how much you wash your face, it's covered with acne-causing bacteria. Yet the degree to which people are plagued by pimples varies a lot. One in five fortunate souls largely avoids acne altogether.

What's their secret? It may have to do with the kind of bacterial company they keep. Researchers at UCLA and Washington University at St. Louis have found that there are, in fact, "good" and "bad" strains of acne bacteria. The former appear to help protect skin from breaking out while the latter torment teens everywhere.

The scientists plucked specimens of Propionibacterium acnes, a type of bacteria that resides in skin pores, from the noses of 49 pimply volunteers and 52 with clear skin and genetically sequenced the samples. They found that two unique strains of P. acnes showed up in one out of five volunteers with acne, but rarely in clear-skinned people. A third strain was common on healthy, unblemished skin but almost never found when acne is present.

It's that third strain that has skin scientists excited.

"We suspect that this strain contains a natural defense mechanism that enables it to recognize attackers and destroy them before they infect the bacterial cell," said study author Huiying Li. "This P. acnes strain may protect the skin, much like yogurt's live bacteria help defend the gut from harmful bugs."

The idea, perhaps, is to develop a probiotic cream filled with good P. acnes that would prevent bad strains from taking root and ruining many a teen's prom night.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

The average person will grow six feet of nose hair over a lifetime.

GET ME THAT. STAT!

Donated blood stored longer than three weeks begins to lose its capacity to deliver oxygen-rich red blood cells where needed, according to a new Johns Hopkins University study. Current blood bank standards allow for at least some types of blood to be stored for up to six weeks, suggesting the standards may need to be revised, though a reduction in storage time would likely reduce inventories.

LIFE IN BIG MACS

One hour of grooming (shaving, styling hair, brushing teeth, etc.) burns 136 calories (based on a 150-pound person) or the equivalent of 0.2 Big Macs.

COUNTS

5.2 — Percentage of American middle school students who smoked in 2009 —Source: Science News

DOC TALK

Dance — The act of tying a surgical gown behind the surgeon's back, involving a 180-degree spin by the surgeon. As in, "Shall we dance?"

Phobia of the week

Rupophobia — Fear of dirt

NEVER SAY DIET

The Major League Eating speed-eating record for quarter-pound hamburgers is 11.25 in 10 minutes, held by Don Lerman. Warning: Most of these records are held by professional eaters; the rest by people who really should find something better to do.

BEST MEDICINE

A young man called his mother in Florida: "Mom, how are you?"

"Not too good," replied the mother. "I've been very weak."

"Why are you so weak?"

"Because I haven't eaten in 38 days," the mother answered.

"That's terrible," said the son. "Why haven't you eaten in 38 days?"

"Because I didn't want my mouth to be filled with food if you should call."

OBSERVATION

"Refuse to be ill. Never tell people you are ill; never own it to yourself. Illness is one of those things which a man should resist on principle at the onset." —English writer Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1837), who is best remembered for phrases like "the great unwashed, pursuit of the almighty dollar, the pen is mightier than the sword," and the opening line of his novel "Paul Clifford": It was a dark and stormy night.

EPITAPHS

In a Thurmont, Md. cemetery: "Here lies an Atheist/All dressed up/And no place to go."

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.