The March 19 issue of New Scientist Magazine reports on mysteries that continue to baffle scientists. These include cosmic rays, dark matter and the placebo effect. Will researchers find the solutions to these puzzles in 2006?

The placebo effect means that if you THINK you are taking an effective medication or treatment, it is often just as effective as taking the real thing?and with no side effects! Side effects are one of the biggest problems in medicine. This is obviously one way that shamans have traditionally healed, using methods?such as chanting or sand paintings?that modern physicians know cannot work (yet they often do).
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The author Kurt Vonnegut recently said, “We are not nice animals, and the Earth’s immune system is trying to shake us off.” How many future generations of humans will the beleaguered Earth be able to sustain?
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Using muscle power as a model, scientists have discovered a way to move an object without touching it, by using only a beam of light. They can use this method to move objects up a hill as well as on a flat surface. Some day light beams may be used to guide drugs to the specific parts of the body where they’re needed. This would be especially valuable for anti-cancer drugs.

Scottish researcher David Leigh covered a gold Teflon-like surface with micro-particles that move up and down a tiny amount when exposed to light. He placed drops of water on this specially-engineered surface and beamed ultra-violet light at them. This changed the surface tension of the liquid and created enough energy to activate the tiny particles and move the water.
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This week on Dreamland, physicistClaudeSwanson reports on the building scientific evidence of theparanormal. Listen as he tells the spellbinding andempowering story of new scientific findings that explainthings like parallel universes, psychic forces,teleportation and much more. He explains the power ofprayer, the meaning of near-death experiences, plantcommunication and even looking into the future in newscientific terms that show that these forces really do existand can be tapped by anybody. Then Linda Howe interviews ascientist who is gearing up to find microbes on Mars!
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