Chip off the Cold Tuber

Potatoes cannot be grown year-round, but the makers of potato chips and similar snacks nonetheless require a constant supply of fresh spuds to meet demand. They cannot preserve potatoes in cold storage because low temperatures trigger a process called cold-induced sweetening, which converts starches into sugars.

Processing CIS-affected tubers loaded with sugars results in darkened fries and chips and the creation of acrylamide, a carcinogenic compound formed during high-temperature processing that is linked to health concerns, such as increased cancer risk.

Researchers at Michigan State University have identified the gene responsible for CIS, and more importantly, how to turn it off. That opens up the possibility of developing potatoes that can be safely refrigerated and still produce the desired golden fries and chips.

The new CIS-resistant potatoes are expected to be commercially available in the near future, hopefully sooner than tater.

Body of Knowledge

Here's why the drains in your sinks and showers clog with hair: Outside of its flammability, human hair decays at such a slow rate that it's practically indestructible. It is impervious to cold, change of climate, water and other natural forces and resistant to many kinds of acid and corrosive chemicals.

Hair today, still hair tomorrow.

Get Me That, Stat!

It's estimated that roughly 10% of babies are born with some type of visible "birthmark," which can be raised or flat, red or brown, large or small. Vascular birthmarks are the result of overgrown blood vessels; others are simply cells that have different pigmentation from the rest of the skin. Moles are one type of pigmented birthmark.

Mark Your Calendar

March is awareness month for bleeding disorders, multiple sclerosis, colorectal cancer, endometriosis, trisomy (a chromosomal condition), developmental disabilities, good nutrition and your kidneys, which really merit a pair of months.

Doc Talk

You have a doctor's prescription in hand. Maybe it's legible, but it's still indecipherable, filled with strange Latin-based abbreviations such as sx for signs or symptoms, dx for diagnosis, tx for treatment and hx for history. And that's before the doctor gets specific:

Ac (ante cibum): before meals

Bid (bis in die): twice a day

Gt (gutta): drop

Hs (hora somni): at bedtime

Od (oculus dexter): right eye

Os (oculus sinister): left eye

Pc (post cibum): after meals

Po (per os): by mouth

Prn (pro re nata): as needed

Q3h (quaque 3 hora): every 3 hours

Qd (quaque die): every day

Qid (quarter in die): 4 times a day

Sig (signa): write

Tid (ter in die): 3 times a day

Phobia of the Week

Hemophobia, hemaphobia and hematophobia -- fear of blood

Best Medicine

When I get a headache, I take two aspirin and keep away from children just like the bottle says.

Observation

"Doctors will have more lives to answer for in the next world than even we generals." -- French emperor and general Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

Medical History

This week in 1991, the Rotoblator, an artery cleaning tool, was debuted by Maurice Buchbinder at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. The tool has diamond head rotating 200,000 times per minute on a small shaft (only nine-thousandths of an inch). When inserted into a clogged artery, the Rotoblator was found to successfully remove obstructions in 95% of cases, especially hardened, calcified blockages which were pulverized into particles smaller than the size of a red blood cell and able to harmlessly exit the bloodstream.

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 1996, the Ig Nobel Prize in biology went to a pair of Norwegian researchers at the University of Bergen for their report, "Effect of Ale, Garlic, and Soured Cream on the Appetite of Leeches."

The researchers found that medicinal leeches briefly dipped in either Guinness stout or Hansa bock became unsteady, losing their grip on proffered forearms and falling on their backs. Leeches applied to skin smeared with garlic wriggled and crawled but did not suck. They died roughly 2.5 hours after exposure to garlic (possibly indicating they were vampire leeches). Leeches exposed to soured cream sucked frantically on the walls of their container, but not so much on human skin (though results may have proved different if the scientists had used potato skins).

Sum Body

Table sugar can be part of a healthful diet, but there are natural alternatives derived from multiple sources. These nutritive sweeteners are not perfect. They can impact blood sugar like table sugar and high intake of them has been associated with increased risk of certain diseases.

Here are five alternatives broadly considered among the better choices:

1. Stevia is extracted from the leaves of a plant called Stevia rebaudiana. The sweet compounds in Stevia are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, gram for gram, with far fewer calories. Stevia has been linked to helping lower blood pressure in people with hypertension, but some research suggests it may negatively affect the gut microbiome.

2. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol found naturally in certain fruits. It doesn't spike blood sugar or insulin levels or affect levels of blood lipids like cholesterol. It's absorbed into the body from the intestines, but quickly excreted unmetabolized in urine. That means no calories. It can cause digestive issues if consumed in significant quantities.

3. Xylitol is another sugar alcohol that interacts with the body in ways similar to erythritol, though it is much more likely to cause gastric distress at high doses. It appears to have some benefits for dental health, including reducing risk of tooth decay, which is why it's often used in sugar-free chewing gums. Notably, xylitol is highly toxic to dogs.

4. Yacon syrup is harvested from the yacon plant, native to South America. It's high in fructooligosaccharides, which function as soluble fibers that feed good bacteria in your gut and may help prevent constipation (although too much at a time might cause digestive problems).

5. Monk fruit is native to Southeast Asia, and its extract is sweet and similar to sugar but without some of the latter's negative impact of blood sugar levels. There is limited research on the safety of monk fruit extract, though there is some evidence that it has anti-inflammatory properties.

Curtain Calls

In 1995 in the village of Nazlat Imara, south of Cairo, Egypt, a chicken fell into a 60-foot well. A farmer climbed in, seeking to rescue the bird, but was apparently pulled into the water. His sister and two brothers went in one by one to help, but also drowned. Two elderly famers arrived, climbed down the well and also drowned.

All six bodies were subsequently recovered, along with the chicken, the only survivor.

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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.