Earwax of bacteria. Cerumen has been found to reduce the viability of a wide range of bacteria, including "Haemophilus influenzae", "Staphylococcus aureus", and many variants of "Escherichia coli", sometimes by as much as 99%. The growth of two fungi commonly present in otomycosis was also significantly inhibited by human cerumen. These antimicrobial properties are due principally to the presence of saturated fatty acids, lysozyme and, especially, to the slight acidity of cerumen (pH typically around 6.1 in normal individuals). Conversely, other research has found that cerumen can support microbial growth and some cerumen samples were found to have bacterial counts as
Mermaids: The Body Found is an example of what is known as docufiction, in which documentary style and programming elements are combined with fictional - or sometimes less egregiously speculative - science and fiction. This type of programming receives particular criticism when, as in the original broadcast of "Mermaids: The Body Found", there are only a few, easily missed disclaimers to indicate the speculative nature of the programming. On the contrary, the serious tone of the majority of the presentation implied that it was a factual documentary. The first airings of the two "Mermaids" programs apparently fooled millions of people and also drew some