Jonathan Livingston Seagull beats The Bible

In its Christmas edition, the BMJ invited suggestions for books to broaden the horizons of the medical profession. The winner was Jonathan Livingston Seagull, whose New Age spirituality can be gauged from one voterÕs describing it as: Ôabout self transcendence . . . we are all capable of recreating ourselves in the shape of our dreamsÕ. The Bible was in 8th equal place. (Source: British Medical Journal, 21 February 1998; 316: 637)

Lords study cannabis risks

A House of Lords Committee will study the risks of taking cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. Its two key questions are: ÔHow strong is the scientif- ic evidence in favour of permitting medical use?Õ and ÔHow strong is the sci- entific evidence in favour of maintaining prohibition of recreational use?Õ A call for legalisation is not anticipated. (Source: Anthony Bevins, The Independent, 6 March 1998)

Drivers on drugs

16% of 619 people killed in road accidents in a 15-month study had taken illegal drugs, compared with 3% in a 1985-87 study. Drug testing of motorists is planned. Please could their Lordships take note? (Source: British Medical Journal, 21 February 1998; 316: 572)

Dolly, Polly, Mr Jefferson

Readers might be forgiven for thinking Eutychus is obsessed with the cloning of animals, but the birth after nuclear transfer of a calf called Mr Jefferson has now been announced. The science is moving fast, as a public consultation about human cloning takes place. And shouldnÕt the calf have been called Miss Jefferson? (Source: British Medical Journal, 28 February 1998; 316: 646)

White witches join animal rights activists

Staying with animals, white witches gathered outside a farm in Oxfordshire where cats are bred for experiments to burn an effigy of the owner, to create Ôsome good vibrationsÕ, and to Ôhelp to dispel any murky black energy around and evoke the Earth MotherÕ. White witches believe they share an affinity with cats. (Source: Jane Cassidy, The Big Issue, February 16-22 1998)

‘Jane Roe’ now opposes abortion

Norma McCorvey is the real name of the American woman in ÔRoe v WadeÕ who lied that she had been raped and was exploited by pro-choice lawyers to bring legalised abortion to the USA 25 years ago. 35,000,000 abortions later, her story includes the fact that she herself never had the abortion, and that in 1995 through the loving witness of Operation Rescue at her abortion clinic in Dallas, she became a Christian. She now campaigns actively to overturn Roe v Wade. (Source: Hugo Gurdon, The Daily Telegraph, January 20 1998)

Virgin brides disappear in UK…

In the 1950Õs, 40% of UK women married before they had sex compared with less than 1% now (Source: Jeremy Laurance, The Independent, 12 February 1998)

...and New Zealand women regret early intercourse

54% of New Zealand women in a study wished they had waited longer before first intercourse, and this rose to 70% for women reporting intercourse before age 16 (Source: British Medical Journal, 3 January 1998; 316: 29-33)

Convictions rise for child prostitution

The ChildrenÕs Society announced in January that the number of children convicted of prostitution offences in England and Wales had more than doubled in one year. Convictions of those aged 17 and under were 210 in 1996 compared with 101 in 1995. (Source: The Independent, 30 January 1998)

Two cultures in nursing?

Peter Fisher, Chairman of the National Health Service ConsultantsÕ Association, has joined the debate between Faith Search, Angela Plume and Professor Powers elsewhere in this issue. He writes ÔReports of a crisis in nurse recruitment should be heeded . . . there is a sense of two cultures within a hospital. One is tra- ditional, with practical concerns about patient care and how to manage with not enough beds and too few staff on duty, the other occupied with techniques and language imported from the business school.Õ (Source: Letter to The Independent, 29 January 1998)

Credit unions needed for health students?

Responding to the growing problem of student debt, felt most particularly in medicine, Mark Pickering asks about the possibility of a student/doctor credit union where Christian doctors could offer interest-free loans to hard-up Christian students in the local medical school. He writes Ôthe next generation of medical students will be even worse offÕ. (Source: Nucleus, January 1998, p29)

Muslim requests 'quiet rooms' for hospital staff

Emphasising that Ôprayer has a pivotal role in the life of MuslimsÕ requiring formal prayer five times a day, Dr Aziz Sheikh suggests that all hospitals should have a Ôquiet roomÕ which would be Ôset aside for prayer or meditation or reflec- tion, which is open to those of any faith or indeed no faithÕ. What do chaplains think? (Source: British Medical Journal, 13 December 1997; 315: 1625)

Three score and ten is all we have?

Scientists in the USA have significantly extended the life span of cultured human cells by adding an enzyme called telom- erase. There has been no sign of abnor- malities. Excitement has been generated - some believe age-related ailments could be controlled, others that the human life span could be extended beyond 120 years. But will the telomerase-positive cells be more prone to cancer? (Source: British Medical Journal, 24 January 1998; 316: 247)