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Violent video games get a bad rap, but they may benefit people with vision problems, psychologist Daphne Maurer of McMaster University in Canada reported February 17. Playing the game Medal of Honor, in which the user sees scenes from the perspective of a soldier, for 40 hours over a month improved a host of visual abilities in adults who were born with cataracts. Even though the participants had their cataracts removed when they were young, vision deficits persisted. But 40 hours of gaming that requires users to survey a wide field and react quickly to threats improved multiple visual skills. Maurer and her colleagues are developing a less gory version of the game that can do the same job without all the bloodshed. -Laura Sanders