A small excerpt from that excerpt:

A few years ago, researchers quizzed more than thirty surgeons and surgical residents on their video-game habits […] Then they put all the surgeons through a laparoscopic surgery simulator, in which thin instruments akin to extremely long chopsticks are inserted into one or more small incisions through the skin along with a small camera that is inserted into an additional small opening. Minimally invasive surgery like this frequently is used for gallbladder removal, gynecologic procedures, and other procedures that once involved major cutting and stitching and could require hours on an operating table.

The researchers found that surgeons or residents who used to be avid video game players had significantly better laparoscopic skills than did those who’d never played. […] The more video games the surgeons had played in the past, the better their numbers. […] The results were surprising given the criticism video games have received for rotting young minds, turning upstanding youngsters into juvenile delinquents, and just wasting time. […]

I know I’ve flogged this particular dead horse many times on this blog, and I’ll try not to do it too many more, but I have to say: take that, video-game scoffers and reactionary eighties parents! 😉

[…] But not every game helps surgeons improve their skills. It turns out that Wii’s Marble Mania stimulates the areas of the brain needed for surgery. […]

Hm… I do well enough in that game to amaze my wife and game-playing relatives who’ve tried it. Maybe I should switch careers. 😉