Eyespy

It's often a matter of perspective in medicine. A patient undergoing rectal examination was overheard to say, “That's where it hurts, doctor, just inside the entrance.” The consultant's response followed swiftly, “In medical circles, sir, we prefer to regard that as an exit” (Emergency Medicine Journal 2004 Sep(suppl):2).

It's been a busy few months for snoring scientists. Firstly, they devised a snore cure that entailed strapping a tennis ball to your back, and now doctors in Germany have created a specially adapted dummy that forces a person's tongue behind their teeth as they sleep. With the tongue immobilised, the palate cannot reverberate creating the sounds associated with snoring. The patients also tend to keep their mouths closed when the device is in place (www.ananova.com).

Anyone who is scientifically inclined and has too much time on their hands can now participate in PubMed Whack. Mathew Smith and Christopher Morris from the Welsh School of Pharmacy at Cardiff University have devised this game, which entails entering two search words on the main PubMed search page (www.pubmed.com) with …