Male Gel

Currently, male birth control consists of two approaches: condoms and vasectomies. The search for something more effective than the former and less drastic than the latter has produced a possible third option: injectable gel.

The gel, which recently went through a small Phase 1 clinical trial with encouraging results, is inserted into the sperm duct, physically blocking sperm from coming out. Tested on 23 participants in Australia last year, researchers found the participants' sperm concentration had dropped by 99%, comparable to a vasectomy.

What remains to be determined is how long the gel persists and its efficacy over time, the health effects of long-term use and whether it reduces pregnancy and not just sperm counts.

Body of Knowledge

A 2020 published study estimated that people have, on average, 6,000 thoughts per day or about 6.5 per minute per waking hour. However, others think differently, and some sources have gone on record speculating that on an average day, the human brain produces up to 70,000 thoughts.

Get Me That, Stat!

The rates of chronic illnesses in children, such as asthma, cystic fibrosis and diabetes, are rising, with a corresponding increase in the use of drugs for longer periods of time. That has resulted in increased numbers of dangerous interactions between drugs prescribed to treat those conditions.

A study published in Pediatrics estimates that 1 in 5 U.S. children who take prescription drugs will experience a serious problem from a drug-drug interaction over a year of treatment, with the risk higher among adolescents, children with more medical and mental health complexity and those who take more than two drugs.

Counts

33 -- Percentage that consumption of sugary drinks declined in five major cities (Boulder, Philadelphia, Oakland, San Francisco and Seattle) after specific taxes were implemented. The decline was immediate and enduring, with no increase in travel to areas where sugary drinks are not taxed.

Source: JAMA Health Forum

Doc Talk

Gorillacillin -- a very powerful antibiotic

Phobia of the Week

Lutraphobia -- fear of otters

Best Medicine

Why aren't hemorrhoids called asteroids?

Observation

"You can't expect to look like a million bucks if you eat from the dollar menu." -- Anonymous

Medical History

This week in 1931, Alka Seltzer debuted in the U.S. Its origins date to three years earlier when Hub Beardsley, president of Miles Laboratories, was visiting newspaper offices in Elkhart, Indiana, during a severe flu epidemic.

The staff seemed resistant to the flu, and the editor told Beardsley that ailing employees took a remedy combining aspirin and baking soda. Beardsley asked his chemists to develop an effervescent tablet with aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) and sodium bicarbonate as the main ingredients. It debuted to much fanfare, though Beardsley himself died in 1929.

Perishable Publications

Many, if not most, published research papers have titles that defy comprehension. They use specialized jargon, complex words and opaque phrases like "nonlinear dynamics." Sometimes they don't, and yet they're still hard to figure out. Here's an actual title of actual published research study: "The Unsuccessful Self-Treatment of a Case of 'Writer's Block.'"

Published by Dennis Upper in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis in 1974, the case study consisted of a single largely blank page.

Self-Exam

Q: What causes morning bad breath?

A: Medically known as halitosis, it's the almost inevitable combination of three factors: your mouth, oral bacteria and lack of saliva. The average mouth is a warm, wet and welcoming refuge for bacteria, an estimated 500 to 650 species totaling in the billions that busily feed on the amino acids, proteins and other chemicals left behind by our meals.

These processes produce odiferous compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan that foul our breath. Saliva helps wash away bacteria before their work gets smelly.

When we sleep, bacteria don't. But saliva production decreases, resulting in a stronger chance of offending morning breath. It helps to brush before bed to reduce bacterial numbers and reduce their food supply, and drinking water before bed can temporarily compensate for loss of saliva. But really, the only solution is to brush and drink a glass of water first thing in the morning. Until that happens, keep your mouth closed around others.

Medical Myths

Modest consumption of eggs is not bad for your heart or cardiovascular health. True, the yolks contain cholesterol, but the amount is minimal compared to dietary fats taken in from the rest of the average American diet. And eggs are nutrient-rich, including omaga-3s, which may lower the risk of heart disease.

Epitaphs

"Gone but not forgotten." -- Tombstone of notorious robber and murderer Clyde Barrow (1909-1934), who is buried in a family plot in Western Heights Cemetery in Dallas, Texas. Barrow's equally notorious partner-in-crime Bonnie Parker (1910-1934), who was killed with Barrow in a police ambush May 23, 1934, is interred at Crown Hill Memorial Park in northwest Dallas.

Her headstone is a bit more flowery: "As the flowers are all made sweeter by the sunshine and the dew, so this old world is made brighter by the likes of folks like you."

(Bonnie and Clyde are believed to have murdered at least nine police officers and four civilians.)

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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.