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

The next time you think about popping that vitamin pill, think again. Wasting money on vitamin supplements that don't work is one thing; but, according to a recent meta-analysis of more than 68 clinical trials, such supplements may actually harm you (JAMA 2007;297:842). People who took vitamin A supplements were 16% more likely to die than people who didn't. The risks from b carotene and vitamin E supplements were less, at 7% and 4%. The manufacturers instantly cried foul, but then this booming industry has a lot to protect.

Forget the physical dimensions of semiclad muscle gods fighting it out in the ring for a moment. It seems that sweat can carry the hepatitis B virus, alerting doctors to the possibility that the virus may be transmitted among wrestlers through cuts and wounds. Researchers screened 70 Olympic wrestlers and found a latent form of the virus in the blood of nine participants, eight of whom carried virus particles in their sweat (British Journal of Sports Medicine 2007 Mar 1, doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2006.032847). Whether sweat can transmit the virus is unknown, but perhaps it is …