There are times in life when people wish they could remove a particularly painful thought from their mind. That usually never happens, but it could in the near future. Tests conducted by Dutch researchers showed volunteers who had been given pills had a much lower response for a bad encounter with spiders, as compared to those who did not have the pill. These pills are based on beta-blocker drugs that erase the bad memory and interfere with the brain's re-creation of stressful events. So there is no chance of a re-lapse and the stressful events can successfully be thrown away. The result is happier people with less stress. Of course, it could be several years before doctors prescribe the drugs for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. The scientists say more tests are needed to confirm the drug's memory- erasing properties. Dr Kindt said: 'The next steps are to look at how long the drug's effects on memory last, and testing the treatment in people who actually are suffering from some kind of disorder or phobia.'