Perhaps in a nod to Father's Day, researchers at Georgetown University (which is, incidentally, not named for the father of our country) recently published a review article in the American Journal of Stem Cells discussing what's known about how a future father's behaviors and environment might affect his progeny.

As it turns out, this is relatively un-researched ground. A lot of studies have been conducted over the years examining how factors like a woman's diet, age, weight, stressors and such can adversely affect her baby, but not so much about dads.

The researchers concluded that similar epigenetic factors impact fathers and they, in turn, affect their children. A young boy growing up exposed to smoking, poor diet, alcohol abuse and more will likely suffer health problems — and pass along some of those issues to their unborn children.

The review authors concluded that more research is needed and, maybe more pressing, the beginnings of sensible lifestyle recommendations for future, wannabe fathers.

Natural Selection

Nearly 80 percent of consumers in a recent Consumer Reports survey said they at least glance at the nutrition facts label when buying a new type of processed food. Seventy-three percent said they try to buy foods labeled "natural," though what exactly that means remains something of a question. Currently, there is no set definition. The Food and Drug Administration is working on one.

Body of Knowledge

On average, your body gives off enough heat in half an hour to boil a half-gallon of water.

Number Cruncher

A bean burrito from Taco Bell (198 grams) contains 370 calories, 90 from fat. It has 10 grams of total fat or 15 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 10 milligrams of cholesterol (3 percent); 1,200 mg of sodium (50 percent); 55 grams of total carbohydrates (18 percent); 8 grams of dietary fiber; 4 grams of sugar and 14 g of protein.

Stories for the Waiting Room

Pay attention. A nationwide study, the first of its kind, says nearly 80 percent of heart attacks in the United States go undiagnosed, often mistakenly dismissed as indigestion or muscle pain or too small to merit serious attention.

Get one heart attack, though, and you're at greater risk for others, possibly even the fatal kind. The study looked at 1,840 participants, 146 of whom had experienced heart attacks, though most had been missed by doctors and patients.

Experts say that if you feel any sort of chest pain, you should seek medical care, even if it feels like a mere case of heartburn.

Doc Talk

Eating in: intravenous feeding

Phobia of the Week

Ebulliophobia: fear of bubbles

Never Say Diet

The world's speed-eating record for burritos is 11.81 pounds in 10 minutes, held by Tim Janus. That translates to roughly 27 Taco Bell bean burritos, 9,990 calories or three times the recommended daily calorie consumption for an 18-year-old male.

Best Medicine

Be kind to dentists. They have fillings too.

Observation

"You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred." — American comedian Woody Allen

Medical History

This week in 1972, the DDT was banned from use in the United States. The insecticide is still used in parts of South America, Africa and Asia to control malaria, typhus, body lice and bubonic plague.

Sum Body

Some diseases are unique to humans, which ironically can make them harder to study. You can't test potential treatments on people first, you need to start with model organisms, which range from yeast and fruit flies to mice, rats and primates.

Here are 10 diseases science has given to mice. In some cases, like complex neurological disorders or behaviors, the modeled condition isn't a precise replica, just an approximation of some symptoms.

1. Gonorrhea

2. Alzheimer's disease

3. HIV

4. Measles

5. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

6. Acne

7. Huntington's disease

8. Alcoholism

9. Schizophrenia

10. Autism

Med School

Q: Which kidney sits higher in your body?

A: Your right kidney is located under your liver, the largest of your internal organs. Your left kidney is located under the spleen, a much smaller organ, so it sits a bit higher. For similar reasons, the right lung is larger and heavier than the left lung because the latter needs to make space for the heart.

Curtain Calls

Garry Hoy, a 38-year-old Canadian lawyer died in 1993 when he fell to his death from the 24th floor of the Toronto-Dominion Centre tower. Hoy had thrown himself against one of the skyscraper's windows to prove that the glass was unbreakable. He was right. The glass did not break, but the window frame popped out — followed by Hoy.

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: David Amsler