You can't face the British Medical Journal, the Lancet is a real slog, and the New England Journal of Medicine brings you out in a cold sweat. So how are you going to impress all those high-powered consultants with your handy knowledge and easy grasp of the latest cutting-edge scientific research?

Look no further than Medical Breakthroughs, and you need never fear social embarrassment again. Though the publishers don't claim a new miracle cure every week, such restraint has clearly been a struggle. This is just the ticket for sufferers from attention deficit disorder: tabloid medicine epitomised.

More reliable gee-whiz optimism can be found at EurekAlert, 'your global gateway to scientific, medical and technology news'. The site is run by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the news it carries is good, solid stuff, well-sourced to medical journals and research bodies.

But there are drawbacks: first, the contributor bodies themselves decide what goes onto EurekAlert, so you are restricted to what they think you should know; and second, though some of the content is freely available, the site is aimed at journalists, and requires in-depth users to prove their credentials.

The Media Medical Agency offers a similar 'medical news source for editors and journalists'. Somehow, though, you can tell this is for the UK market. Maybe it's the release headed '90 per cent of Northern Ireland women dissatisfied with their sex life' or the fact sheet on Hernia Awareness Month. . .

Serious followers of biomedical research need HMS Beagle, a 'daily webzine' offered to members of BioMedNet, the 'number one biological and medical community on the internet'.

Though truly impressive, beware: once you are registered, the only way off the list is to scrap your e-mail account.