Chitin is a dietary fiber found abundantly in the exoskeletons of insects and crustaceans, i.e., the shells of crabs and lobsters. New research suggests that chomping down on chitin (crustaceans, if not insects) may be good for digestion, triggering an immune response that is linked to less weight gain, reduced body fat and resistance to obesity.

Researchers found that a particular arm of the immune system is involved in chitin digestion. Stomach distention after chitin ingestion activates an innate immune response that triggers stomach cells to ramp up production of enzymes known as chitinases that break down chitin. One benefit: increased metabolic activity and reduced calorie consumption.

Of course, the prospect of eating the exoskeletons of creatures is probably going to reduce calorie consumption before the first bite.

Vaccine Hesitancy Goes to the Dogs

Researchers analyzed a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States and found that more than half of people who own dogs expressed some level of canine vaccine hesitancy. In other words, they were skeptical about vaccinating their pets against rabies and other diseases.

Specifically, an estimated 45% of U.S. households own a dog; according to the survey results, nearly 40% of dog owners believe that canine vaccines are unsafe, more than 20% believe these vaccines are ineffective and 30% consider them to be medically unnecessary.

Approximately 37% of dog owners also believe that canine vaccination could cause their dogs to develop autism spectrum disorder, even though there is no scientific data that validates this risk for animals or humans. ASD can occur in dogs, but it's called canine dysfunctional behavior, and its cause is unknown.

Body of Knowledge

There are an estimated 480 million alveoli in an average pair of adult human lungs. These tiny air sacs take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. They are where oxygen is transferred from the lungs to the bloodstream.

Phobia of the Week

Lutraphobia — fear of otters

Counts

12 — Percentage of Americans who eat half of all beef consumed on any given day in the U.S.

Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, CDC

Get Me That, Stat!

More than one-third of US households with teens own firearms, and more than two-thirds of these owners store at least one gun unlocked and/or loaded, according to a University of Michigan study.

Best Medicine

Recent studies show that patients who have a cold feel better on Saturdays and Sundays. Evidence suggests a weekend immune system.

Doc Talk

Reperfusion — reestablishing blood flow, such as when a blockage in a coronary artery that is causing a heart attack is cleared

Observation

"Many a health has been ruined by drinking to the health of others." — German actor Heinz Ruhmann (1902-1994)

Medical History

This week in 1997, American biology professor Stanley B. Prusiner won the Nobel Prize for medicine for discovering "prions," described as "an entirely new genre of disease-causing agents." The name means "proteinaceous infectious particle." Prions cause brain diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. The human version of the disease is called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; kuru among some peoples in New Guinea; and scrapie in sheep and goats.

Prions are too small to be seen with normal microscopy. They are self-replicating but contain no nucleic acid. Prions are highly resistant to destruction or denaturation by common chemical and physical agents such as disinfectants, formalin, heat, UV or ionizing radiation. Incineration of infected tissues requires a temperature never below 900 degrees Fahrenheit for four hours.

Self-Exam

Q: What are the three layers of skin?

A: From outer to inner: epidermis, dermis and hypodermis.

Bonus question: What do you call the outer layer of an animal or plant?

A: Integument, which encompasses not just skin, but hair, nails and glands.

Epitaphs

"Leave for her a red young rose.

Go your way, and save your pity;

She is happy, for she knows

That her dust is very pretty."

— American poet, writer, critic and satirist Dorothy Parker (1893-1967). These are the last four lines of Parker's 1926 poem "Epitaph for a Darling Lady."

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: Pauline Loroy at Unsplash