Malaria is one of the world's great, enduring scourges: Roughly half of the world's population lives in areas at risk for disease transmission. Last year, there were 214 million recorded clinical cases and 438,000 deaths.

The Nobel Prize has been awarded five times to people working on malaria, but until now, there has been no vaccine. The world's first malaria vaccine began pilot studies this month in sub-Saharan Africa, with funding from the World Health Organization.

The vaccine isn't expected to be a cure-all. Earlier studies found it only 39 percent effective at reducing malaria infections, but for such a widespread disease like malaria, even a moderately effective vaccine might save thousands of lives each year.

Full clinical trials will take three to five years to complete.

Body of Knowledge

On average, the human nose cleans, warms and humidifies more than 500 cubic feet of air each day or, to couch it a different way, about the volume of 90 four-cushion sofas

Get Me That, Stat!

The typical American woman wants two children. To achieve this goal, according to the Guttmacher Institute, she must use birth control for about three decades. In related news, the CDC says the teen birth rate has dramatically tumbled in recent years: 50 percent in urban areas between 2007 and 2015, but just 37 percent in rural areas.

Number Cruncher

A single McDonald's sausage McGriddle sandwich (141 grams) contains 420 calories, 198 from fat. It has 22 grams of total fat or 34 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 35 milligrams of cholesterol (12 percent); 1,030 mg of sodium (43 percent); 44 grams of total carbohydrates (15 percent); 15 grams of sugar and 11 g of protein.

Counts

20: Percentage caregivers spend of annual income on providing care to family members or loved ones (twice that percentage for low-income caregivers)

6,954: What that 20 percent translates to for average out-of-pocket caregiving costs annually per individual, in dollars

10,697: Annual out-of-pocket cost, in dollars, for caring for persons with dementia

Source: AARP

Doc Talk

Heloma molle: a soft callus or corn. If it's hard, it's an heloma durum.

Phobia of the Week

Haptephobia: fear of being touched, literally — not in the Hallmark Cards sort of way

Never Say Diet

The Major League Eating record for fruitcake is 4 pounds, 14.25 ounces in 10 minutes, held by Sonya Thomas, who set the record in 2003. She's probably still trying to digest it.

Observation

"Reality is the leading causes of stress among those in touch with it."

—Comedian Lily Tomlin

Medical History

This week in 1952, a dense smog descended on London, England. It would last four days and cause 4,000 deaths, mostly among the elderly, very young and those with medical problems. The cause was attributed to coal-burning plants, prompting the nation's Clear Air Act of 1956.

Medical Myths

Some folks shun coffee — or at least drinking more than a little — because they fear it will cause dehydration. Coffee can be a diuretic that promotes increased urination, but that effect is compensated by the increased water consumption. A 2014 study, in fact, found that coffee didn't change urination habits or production at all.

Med School

Q: In a recent survey, what portion of Americans said they believed people can be supernaturally healed, according to the Barna Group?

A: Two-thirds. One-quarter also claimed to have experienced such healing personally.

Curtain Calls

Zishe (Siegmund) Breitbart was a famous circus performer touted as the strongest man in the world. In 1925, during an exhibition, Breitbart hammered a metal spike through a one-inch-thick oak board using only his bare hands. Unfortunately, the rusty spike accidentally pierced his knee as well, eventually resulting in fatal blood poisoning. Breitbart was 32 years old.

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.