The placebo effect is a beneficial health outcome resulting from a person's anticipation that an intervention will help.  Placebo is Latin for  I shall please .  Two related examples are self-fulfilling prophecy and the Pygmalion Effect. The  placebo response rate could be as high as from 35% to 40% , according to the  Journal of American Medical Association .  Medical News Today has reported that this effect could range from  16% to 71.4% , depending on the ailment.   A more caring approach can enhance the effect.  In the case of Parkinson's disease, where 16% showed significant improvements, sometimes lasting for 6 months, the reason was due to dopamine release in the striatum.   The placebo effect is at the interface of biology and psychology.   There is now more information on why acupuncture and reiki do help some people.   Doctors are more and more being taught that if science cannot separate a medicine from a placebo, shouldn't they use this information to some adv

One way to gain a reputation of being smart is to keep abreast of what is happening around you.  Here are some tips, in priority order. LIFE Today is June 20, the Monday holiday for Juneteenth, if you live in the U.S. and work for the federal government or live in those 18 states approving day.  Here are  other countries with a national holiday today , as for example Flag Day for Argentina and Corpus Christi in Columbia, which just had a presidential election: Gustavo Petro, former mayor of Bogota, was elected as the first leftist ( for social equality and egalitarianism ) president of the country.  While you would have surmised that the country's relationship with the USA would improve, just the opposite, for Petro has been very critical of the U.S. war on drugs.  There is room for agreement, as he further is strong on reversing global climate warming. The vice president is  Francia Marquez , the first Black women in that office, who vows to stand for "nobodies."  She is