Last year's lockdowns, which were enacted to combat the spread of COVID-19, may have saved up to 32,000 lives due to lowered emissions from vehicles and coal-powered electricity plants.

Researchers looked at 252 regions around the world and found a reduction in airborne pollutants. The benefit was most pronounced in China, where nitrogen dioxide emissions were reduced acutely, translating into roughly 21,000 lives likely saved from the harmful effects of air pollution.

Body of Knowledge

Human fingertips can distinguish between smooth glass and glass with an etched pattern no deeper than 1/2,500 of an inch.

Get Me That, Stat!

A special report commissioned by the journal Lancet estimates that by 2030, 35% of all deaths in women globally will be due to heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular conditions.

Stories for the Waiting Room

Using data between 2017 and 2019, U.S. poison control centers found that two-thirds of cannabis-related calls were for plant materials while the rest were for manufactured products, such as edibles and concentrates.

Call frequency increased, too, from 11% for marijuana-related calls in 2017 to nearly 56% in 2019. Calls about exposures to edibles most often involved kids. And while most exposures to manufactured products didn't lead to serious medical outcomes, those involving vaporized liquid were most likely to have serious consequences.

Doc Talk

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis: A lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust. It's also the longest word in the English language published in a dictionary.

Mania of the Week

Catapedamania: An obsession with jumping from high places, including skydiving, bungee jumping and high diving boards

Food for Thought

Yellow #5 and Yellow #6 are the second and third most common food colorings. (Red #40 tops the list.) They are used in cereals, puddings, bread mixes, chips, cookies and condiments. The FDA does not consider these colorings to pose serious health risks to consumers, but some studies have linked the dyes to learning and concentration disorders in children.

Best Medicine

Pediatrician: "Well, how did the talk with your kids about a healthier diet go?"

Parent: "Surprisingly well! I really impressed them with the health benefits of dried fruits."

Pediatrician: "Yes, it's all about raisin awareness."

Observation

"Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart?" — Comedian Erma Bombeck

Medical History

This week in 1957, U.S. Surgeon General Leroy Burney issued a report on a connection between smoking and lung cancer. He was the first government official to publicly acknowledge the connection between smoking and lung cancer, saying: "It is clear that there is an increasing and consistent body of evidence that excessive cigarette smoking is one of the causative factors in lung cancer." Burney was a smoker himself. He died in 1998 at the age of 91 due to complications from pneumonia.

Ig Nobel Apprised

The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate achievements that make people laugh, then think. A look at real science that's hard to take seriously and even harder to ignore.

In 2001, the Ig Nobel Prize in medicine went to Peter Barss of McGill University in Canada for his report titled "Injuries due to falling coconuts." Barss described four cases in Papua New Guinea. Two victims required cranial surgery; two died instantly from falling coconuts, which may weigh up to 10 pounds each.

Self-exam

Q: How many senses do humans have?

A: If you said five (sight, taste, touch, hearing and feel), you're not thinking broadly enough. Indeed, common sense (not one of the senses counted here) suggests lots more. There is no precise, absolute answer. Depending on who's counting, the total number of senses might be 21, 33, 53 or more.

Examples of other senses: Nociception is the sense of pain. Equilibrioception is sense of balance. Thermoception is the sense of heat. And proprioception is awareness of body. There are also senses of time, hormonal signals, gravity, motion, pressure, thirst, hunger and emotions in others.

Last Words

"Just don't leave me alone." — American comedian and actor John Belushi (1949-1982). Belushi was a frequent drug user. On the last night of his life, he was given a fatal injection of cocaine and heroin by a friend, who later served 15 months in prison after a conviction for involuntary manslaughter.

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.

Photo credit: algrin25 at Pixabay