Among the traditional rites at high-school reunions and similar events is the universal assessment of attendees who have hardly seemed to age and those who have, well, gotten "really old." Scientists are not immune to such observations. The Dunedin Study in New Zealand has tracked the lives of 1,000 Dunedin residents, all born in 1972 or 1973, regularly measuring 18 biological factors, from dental health to liver function. Duke University researchers tapped the database to determine whether the rate of aging actually varied among individuals.

Their conclusion: Yep.

They found that the "biological age" often diverged substantially from actual age. Though everyone in the Dunedin Study was 38 years old, some had the cardiovascular fitness level, lung capacity, immune system, etc., of people much younger or much older. Some participants were aging three biological years every year.

And here's the kicker: The scientists asked a group of Duke undergraduates to assess facial portraits of study participants and rate how young or old they appeared. The students found that participants whose bodies were biologically aging faster on the inside also looked older on the outside.

The one possible saving grace: Twenty-somethings think everybody looks old.

Body of Knowledge

A reddit user survey earlier this year found that most men shower daily; women do so slightly less often. (It's possible the latter are throwing in a bath or two.) An earlier study reported that 7 percent of Americans say they bathe rarely or not at all.

Number Cruncher

A serving of Funyuns (49.6 grams) contains 260 calories, 126 from fat. It has 14 grams of total fat, or 22 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet, according to the Calorie Count database.

It also contains zero milligrams of cholesterol, 400 milligrams of sodium (17 percent), 30 grams of total carbohydrates (10 percent), 1 gram of sugar and 3 grams of protein.

Counts

100: number of working dentists in the United States in 1825.

Source: "The Excruciating History of Dentistry," by James Wynbrandt

Mania of the Week

Aboulomania: pathological indecisiveness.

Never Say Diet

The Major League Eating record for whole pickled beef tongue is 3 pounds, 3 ounces in 12 minutes, held by Dominic Cardo. The feat left observers speechless, not to mention the cattle.

Best Medicine

During a physical exam, a doctor remarked on a new patient's extraordinarily ruddy complexion. The patient replied, "High blood pressure, doc. It comes from my family."

"Your mother's side or your father's?" asked the doctor.

"Neither," replied the patient. "My wife."

Observation

"A doctor's reputation is made by the number of eminent men who die under his care." — playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

Medical History

This week in 1927, the first iron lung was installed at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York in response to a postwar polio epidemic. The electric respirator was developed at Harvard University by Philip Drinker and Louis Agassiz Shaw and used two vacuum cleaners. The device encloses a patient (except for the head) and alternates internal air pressure, causing the lungs to inflate and deflate and promote breathing.

Last Words

"At 50, everyone has the face he deserves." Those were writer George Orwell's last written words. He died in 1950 at the age of 46.

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.