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Feet home to nearly 200 Scientists have discovered that humans have nearly 200 different types of fungi colonising their feet. Fungi live all over the , but their favourite spots are the heel, under toenails and between the toes, according to a United States study.
A new map of the body's fungal diversity could help combat such as athlete's foot, researchers report in Nature journal. Harmless fungi live naturally on but cause infection if they multiply. In the first study of its kind, a US team catalogued the different groups of fungi living on the body in healthy adults.
Fungal infections are common and include athlete's foot, ringworm and yeast infections. Athlete's foot, also called Tinea pedis, is a very common fungal infection of the foot, causing peeling, , itching, burning, and sometimes blisters and sores. The most common symptom of a fungal nail infection is the nail becoming thickened and discoloured - it can turn white, black, yellow or green.
A team led by the National Human Genome Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, sequenced the DNA of fungi living on the skin at 14 different body areas in 10 healthy adults. Samples were taken from the ear canal, between the eyebrows, the back of the head, behind the ear, the heel, toenails, between the toes, forearm, back, groin, nostrils, chest, palm, and the crook of the elbow.
The data reveal that fungal richness varies across the body. The most complex fungal habitat is the heel, home to about 80 types of fungi. The researchers found about 60 types in toenail clippings and 40 types in swabs between the toes.
Other favoured fungal hot spots include the palm, forearm and inside the elbow. These had moderate levels of fungi, with each location supporting 18 to 32 types.
In contrast, the head and the trunk harboured fewer varieties of fungi - just two to 10 each.
Eating peppers might help prevent Parkinson's disease
A new study suggests that eating more peppers may lower your risk of developing Parkinson's disease, the movement disorder that is often hard to diagnose and gets worse over time and affects as many as one million people in the United States.
Published in the journal Annals of Neurology, researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle, United States, asked 490 newly diagnosed participants and 644 participants without the disease (who were used as controls) to share their dietary habits and tobacco use.
The more participants filled up on foods from the Solanaceae plant family - which includes peppers, tomatoes, tomato juice, and potatoes - the lower their risk for Parkinson's. Peppers, in particular, seemed to be the most effective: Eating them two to four times or more per week was associated with about a 30 per cent reduced risk of developing the disease.
Parkinson's develops when neurons in the brain that are responsible for producing dopamine, a hormone that helps regulate movement in the body, malfunction and die. Symptoms include tremors, slowed movement, stiffness and instability.
It's also worth noting that, in this study, the reduced risk associated with eating these foods occurred mostly in men and women who reported never having smoked tobacco or only did so for a short period of time.
Painkillers may kill your sex life
Certain painkillers could also kill the sensation in the penis, leaving the man unable to get an erection.
In the journal Spine, researchers looked at health records of more than 11,000 men with back pain and found that 19 per cent of guys who regularly took high-dose prescription opioids - including hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine - also received prescriptions for erectile dysfunction (ED) medication.
"It's well known that opioids can drop your testosterone levels very rapidly," says lead study author Richard A. Deyo, MD, MPH, of Kaiser Permanente.
And although the association between T-levels and ED is a loose one, it's still the most logical explanation for why painkillers may impact the libido and erectile function, Deyo explained.
The good news: T-levels recover when you stop taking the pills. So if you only use them occasionally - the guys in the study took them daily for four months - you may not even notice ED-related side effects, said Deyo.
Plus, the prescribed dosage for opioids is usually 20 milligrams (mg) per day, not the 120mg analysed in the study.
But if you've got chronic back pain and regularly take such medication, Deyo suggests talking with your doctor about alternative ways to ease your aches. One option: breaking a sweat.
"It may sound counterintuitive, but there's interesting research that shows rigorous exercise that's well tailored to someone with back problems can make a big difference in chronic pain," says Deyo.
Exercise may also fight ED, he said.