"THE BOTTOM LINE How does it feel to be sitting on a volcano? It's discomfitting to learn that two of the main gases forming in your intestine - hydrogen and methane - are combustible. It's even more worrying to hear that in the 1980s there were a number of fatal explosions during otherwise routine operations on this part of the body. Somehow, purgatives used to clean the gut enhanced the production of these two gases and chance sparks during the operations triggered the explosions. Now, thanks to Michael Levitt, such colonic detonations are rare. Levitt, a gastroenterologist at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Minneapolis is an expert on gaseous emissions and has devoted the past 30 years to a conscientious study of flatus. We take a look at the career of a man who has been dubbed "Dr Fart" and whose work, though pungent, is far from pointless and has saved lives. Read the full feature in New Scientist magazine" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Structure your ColdFusion code with Fusebox. Get the official book at http://www.fusionauthority.com/bkinfo.cfm Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
