Back in 2013, the New York City Department of City Planning estimated that as of July of that year, the urban rat population stood at 8,405,837 — an oddly precise estimate that also happened to work out to one rat per New Yorker. A subsequent study slashed this number to 2 million rats, which meant locals would theoretically have to share pet rodents.

Seeking new adventures and the occasional puddle of vomit, scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College recently descended into the New York City subway system to assess the status of another native denizen: its microbes. Over 18 months, they dodged their furry friends and dubious discoveries, swabbed surfaces, and sampled DNA from 466 subway stations and found:

—Forty-eight percent of the microbes were previously unknown.

—The Bronx boasts the greatest microbial diversity, and Staten Island the least.

—Most of the bugs detected were harmless to human health. Just 12 percent could be associated with disease, including bubonic plague (carried by rats!), but their levels weren't high enough to sicken subway passengers.

Body of Knowledge

In maximum ordinary breathing, the speed of air passing through the nose equals 10 feet per second, or Force 2 on the Beaufort wind scale, which is a light breeze.

Get Me That, Stat!

The World Health Organization estimates that between 3 million and 5 million people worldwide get a serious case of the regular flu each year; tens of millions get milder cases. Between 250,000 and 500,000 people globally die of the flu every year.

Life in Big Macs

One hour of general aerobics burns 442 calories (based on a 150-pound person), or the equivalent of slightly more than half a Big Mac or 1.6 Snickers bars.

Doc Talk

Crump: when a patient takes a sudden turn for the worse.

Mania of the Week

Sophomania: the delusion that one is incredibly intelligent.

Best Medicine

A doctor was giving a lecture to a group of medical students at a teaching hospital.

Pointing to an X-ray, he said, "As you can see, this patient limps because his right fibula and tibia are radically arched." Then the doctor turned to one of the students and asked, ?"Now what would you do in a case like this?"

Replied the student, "I suppose I would limp, too."

Observation

"After you find out all the things that can go wrong, your life becomes less about living and more about waiting." — author Chuck Palahniuk in "Choke"

Medical History

This week in 1951, perhaps the longest operation in medical history occurred — a four-day procedure to remove a huge ovarian cyst. The cyst had developed over more than a decade, helping balloon the patient to more than 616 pounds. It was pressing dangerously on her heart, so doctors tapped it and slowly drained fluid — 120 drops per minute. After four days, 200 pounds of fluid had been removed, and the remaining 100-pound cyst was surgically excised.

Epitaphs

On a headstone in a Vermont cemetery:

"Sacred to the memory of

my husband John Barnes

who died January 3, 1803

His comely young widow, aged 23, has

many qualifications of a good wife, and

yearns to be comforted."

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.