Freewheelin' scientists sneak Dylan lyrics into articles for decades - for a bet

Why? Because each is part of a contest, almost two decades long, and while the prize might not be small - a fancy restaurant lunch - each is also a die-hard Dylan fan.

17 years ago, a pair of Swedish academics (Jundberg and Weitzberg) published a paper in Nature Medicine.

Because the paper dealt with gas in the intestinal system - and the duo just happened to be huge Dylan fans who couldn't resist the flatulence joke - it was titled: 'Nitric Oxide and Inflammation: The answer is blowing in the wind'.

Separately, a few years later, two other academics - Frisén and Meletis - published their article on the mutation of blood cells into nerve cells. Its title? 'Blood on the Tracks: a simple twist of fate' - incorporating both the title of an album and a song from that album.

Spotting this, Jundberg and Weitzberg sent off an email, setting out the challenge to their peers, and the pact was born. Later, they discovered that Professor Kenneth Chien was doing the exact same thing of his own accord.

Now, all five are taking part, and exchange emails highlighting the latest articles they've managed to sneak Dylan lyrics into.

Thus, the scientific world is gifted with such gems as 'Eph receptors tangled up in two', the arguably clearer 'Tangled up in blue: Molecular cardiology in the post molecular era' and 'Dietary nitrate - a slow train coming.'

“The contest is open for everyone,” Lundberg explained to the Karolinska Instituet, where three of the academics work.

“But it’s important that the quote is linked to the scientific content, that it reinforces the message and raises the quality of the article as such, not the reverse,” Frisén added.