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

Fretting over difficult choices really may be the worst thing you can do. New research shows that thinking too hard about complicated problems results in poor decision making. Study participants were given either simple or complex information about four cars. Half were allowed time to choose a favourite. The others were told that they could choose their favourite after they had solved anagrams. The distracted participants' choices didn't differ between conditions. Conscious thinkers generally made the best choice in simple conditions, but they made bad choices given complex circumstances. In another experiment, researchers quizzed shoppers and found that customers buying simple goods who had thought about their purchases were happier than unconscious thinkers. But for complicated products, the happiest shoppers had thought the least about their purchase. Expert advice is to go with your gut feeling (Science 2006;311: 935).

Capsaicin is the substance in chillies that burns your mouth—and it seems to be able to kill prostate cancer cells too. Tumours in mice that were treated with capsaicin shrank to a fifth of their original size. Researchers also exposed human prostate cancer cells to capsaicin in the laboratory. The proliferation of the cells in the dish slowed—by 75% at high concentrations. And capsaicin suppressed—by …