The Mary Sue

A Malware Protection “Placebo” App Made $40,000 by Doing Nothing

5/5 stars. Would get fooled by again.

by Dan Van Winkle Apr 9th

The placebo effect is great, because not only does it psychologically fix things from time to time, but it also tricks you into fun things like believing your car goes faster when you put a bunch of cool stickers on it. It also makes people a bunch of money when they sell an app that does nothing but tell people it's preventing malware.

We May Have Finally Figured Out What Makes The Placebo Response Tick

by Ian Chant Oct 23rd

For as large a role as it plays in modern medicine -- from testing to treatment -- the mechanics of the placebo effect remain a remarkably ill-understood mystery. A team of researchers at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School may have just had a break in the case, though. According to a study published in the journal PLoS ONE, the researchers have identified the first ever genetic difference between patients who respond to placeboes and patients who don't. Finding a genetic marker for the placebo effect might impact how some diseases are treated, but its real value could be in revolutionizing the way clinical trials are conducted and new drugs are approved for use.

Ancient Chinese Secret: Efficacy of Traditional Chinese Cures Tied to Spirtiuality

by Ian Chant Sep 25th

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has no grounding in science, reality, facts, or even fact-shaped objects. It couldn't be mistaken for science from across a crowded room in poor light. It is, for all intents and purposes, bunk of the highest order. Here's the frustrating thing, though -- in spite of all of that, it tends to work surprisingly well for some patients. A new survey shows that the resilience of the techniques, like acupuncture, may be closely tied to the spirituality of patients, suggesting that it may be more effective for people with a strong belief in the principles at play.

Mathematical Model Reassures Us That Placebo Effect Is Still Awesome, Confusing

by Ian Chant Aug 31st

We're getting better at understanding how our bodies and minds work every day, but one key factor binding both together remains a mystery. For all our new understanding of genetics, nanotechnology, and other new treatments, the placebo effect remains a mystery to us -- and a powerful one at that. Biology and mathematics researchers at the University of Bristol have published the results of a series of mathematical models that give some weight to the theory that the placebo effect is an evolutionary adaptation -- the result of our bodies' immune systems not running at full speed all the time to conserve energy.