Eyespy

Eyespy brings you the latest quirky medical stories from around the world

Our big brains may have originated in a genetic mutation that evolved 2.4 million years ago. A paper in Nature (2004;428:415-8) explains that the mutation, which weakened our jaw muscles, may have changed the shape of our skulls giving the brain more room to grow.

Gratification disorder, or infantile masturbation, presents in a surprisingly wide variety of ways. Rocking, sweating, grunting, and dystonic posturing all feature. In most children, gratification disorder is an important consideration in the differential diagnosis of epilepsy and other childhood paroxysmal events, and home videos can be useful in preventing unnecessary investigation and treatment (Archives of Disease in Childhood 2004;89: 225-6).

An Austrian lung specialist, Friedrich Bischinger, has promoted picking your nose and eating it. The Innsbruck-based specialist said people who pick their noses with their fingers were healthy, happier, and probably better in tune with their bodies. He added that society should adopt a new approach to nose-picking and encourage children to take it up. Hopefully in their own homes (www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_903083.html).

Need to lose some …