Riding the recent wave of video-games-are-good-for-you comes a new study that says there is a strong relationship between gaming skills and a surgeon's ability to perform laparoscopic surgery. As CNN explains, laparoscopy involves manipulating instruments through a small incision. The surgeon's movements are then followed on a television screen. The study stated that doctors who game at least three hours per week made 37 percent fewer errors, performed 27 percent faster and scored 42 percent better in a surgical test than doctors who never game. Says the study's author Dr. James Rosser:

Video games may be a practical teaching tool to help train surgeons.

This connection doesn't seem much of a surprise, really. Neither is the study's co-author Douglas Gentile saying this:

Parents should not see this study as beneficial if their child is playing video games for over an hour a day. Spending that much time playing video games is not going to help their child's chances of getting into medical school.

Thanks for being the requisite wet blanket, Doug. The local PTA appreciates it. Brian Ashcraft

Games Help Surgeons, Not Future Med Students [CNN, Thanks VoldtaEngler!]