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Many people have small pouches in their colons that bulge outward through weak spots. Each pouch is called a diverticulum. About 10% of Americans older than age 40 years have diverticulosis, which, when the pouches become infected or inflamed, is called diverticulitis. The main cause of diverticular disease is a low-fiber diet.
Asthma cases in Americans are about 75% higher today than they were in 1980.
In 1835 it was discovered that a disease of silkworms known as muscardine could be transferred from one silkworm to another, and was caused by a fungus.
More than 2,500 barbiturates have been synthesized. At the height of their popularity, about 50 were marketed for human use.
About 3% of all pregnant women will give birth to twins, which is an increase in rate of nearly 60% since the early 1980s.

