(shudder)

Not much blogging over the holidays so far, but I'd be remiss if I didn't link to an article that includes the quote: "Ultimately our idea is to turn the current ordeal of the colonic endoscopy procedure into something akin to a pleasurable experience!" You don't say. The story, though, is even stranger than that. Here come the bionic buttworms.

But a team from the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, found the ragworm, which lives in seashores, could offer a model for a more comfortable test. They say their device would be able to "pull" itself along, rather than having to be forced into the body. The team have developed a prototype device, named the Bioloch Ist, which imitates the undulating motion of the ragworm, also known as the paddleworm. The worm, which is often used as fishing bait, moves in wet environments containing large amounts of solid and semi-solid material - similar to that often found inside the body.

The prototype consists of a simple worm with a flexible central spine and paddles sticking out either side along the worm's body. The team are now working on a more advanced version of the device in which the paddles themselves can also move as well as the central spine. Eventually, the device will be motorised.

I completely understand how this would be a tremendous improvement over the current procedure and yet, my skin is crawling.