Engineers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have created a portable device that detects when the body starts burning fat while dieting or exercising.

The device detects the acetone content in exhaled breath nearly as accurately as a much larger mass spectrometer. Acetone is the byproduct of fat metabolism that is exhaled via the lungs. The body makes it when it burns fat instead of carbohydrates (such as sugar).

The device is reminiscent of the alcohol breathalyzers used by police in traffic checks and can be operated reliably by non-experts with a smartphone app, say the engineers. People could monitor their fat metabolism without professional support or blood tests.

Body of Knowledge

The middle part of the back is the least sensitive surface of the body. Maybe that's why you never feel a backstabber coming?

Counts

Nearly 3 in 4: Ratio of U.S. adults who say they felt very tired or exhausted at least some days in the past three months.

1 in 6: Ratio of adults who said they experienced frequent fatigue, as in most days or every day.

20: Percentage of women who reported frequent fatigue (compared to 13% for men) (Source: National Center for Health Statistics).

Doc Talk

Hepaticocholangiocholecystenterostomies: A collection of surgical procedures that create artificial connections between the liver ducts, bile ducts, gallbladder and intestines.

Mania of the Week

Etheromania: An addiction or obsessive use of (diethyl) ether or the class of organic compounds containing an oxygen atom bonded to two separate carbon atoms, each part of an organyl group

Best Medicine

A distraught man runs into the doctor's office.

"Doc!" the man screams. "I've lost my memory!"

"When did this happen?" asks the doctor.

The man looks at him and replies, "When did what happen?"

Observation

"Whatever you do, always give 100%, unless you're donating blood." — Comedian Bill Murray

Medical History

This week in 1948, a killing smog blanketed the small town of Donora, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Residents of the working-class community went to bed not knowing that a suffocating cloud of industrial gases — a mix of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and metal dust from the smokestacks of the local zinc smelter — would descend upon them during the night.

Over the next five days, 20 residents died, and half the town's population (7,000 people) were sickened with difficulty breathing. Rain finally cleared the air on Halloween day.

The event inspired major environmental investigations and paved the way for national clean air legislation.

Measure Me

Created in 1997, the Bristol Stool Chart is a clinical tool for assessing fecal matter based on consistency and transit time. It is the No. 1 doctor-to-patient communications tool for No. 2.

— Type 1 (Constipation): Separate, hard, marble-like lumps, difficult to pass

— Type 2 (Constipation): Sausage-shaped but lumpy

— Type 3 (Ideal): Sausage-shaped with cracks on the surface

— Type 4 (Ideal): Smooth, soft and sausage- or snake-shaped

— Type 5: Soft blobs with clear-cut edges, passed easily

— Type 6 (Diarrhea): Fluffy, mushy pieces with ragged edges

— Type 7 (Diarrhea): Watery, entirely liquid

The inside poop:

Normal Stool: Types 3 and 4 are generally considered healthy, easy to pass and not too watery or hard.

Constipation: Types 1 and 2 indicate the stool has spent too much time in the colon.

Diarrhea: Types 5, 6 and 7 indicate rapid transit, where the colon did not have enough time to absorb water.

Color and Safety: While the chart focuses on shape, consistent, long-term changes or unusual colors (like red, black or tarry) should be evaluated by a doctor.

Fit to Be Tried

There are thousands of exercises, and you've only got one body, but that doesn't mean you can't try them all:

Rotational jacks are a variation of the jumping jack and a good way to warm up at the beginning of a workout.

Start in a wide stance with bent knees. Extend your arms straight out at your sides, parallel to the ground.

Keeping your arms straight and head and neck stationary, hinge forward at the hips and rotate your torso so your right hand touches the ground.

Return to the starting position and jump your feet together.

Immediately jump your feet back out, hinge forward again and rotate to the left, touching your hand to the ground.

Return to start. Jump your feet together and twist again to the right.

Complete 12 to 15 repetitions for three sets.

Med School

Q: You have oculus sinister. Is that bad?

A: From most points of view, no. It's the Latin medical phrase meaning "left eye." The right eye is known as oculus dexter.

Curtain Calls

In 1998, Daniel Wyman, 29, and a friend went fishing at Fox Lake in Illinois — with M-250 firecrackers, the equivalent of one-quarter stick of dynamite — which they tossed into the water to kill their prey. A gust of wind pushed their 14-foot aluminum boat over a firecracker, which promptly blew a hole in the bottom. The boat sank 100 yards from shore. Wyman's friend swam to safety, but Wyman drowned.

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: Kamal Hoseinianzade at Unsplash