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Phil Starks

Placebo effect can work as well as real medicine – but your body may need permission to use it

Placebo effect can work as well as real medicine – but your body may need permission to use it

(MEDFORD, MA) The first time the placebo effect really got under my skin was when I read that roughly one-third of people with irritable bowel syndrome improve on placebo treatments alone. Usually this statistic is presented as a fascinating quirk of medicine. My reaction was anger. Humanity possesses an
Phil Starks, Tufts University 21 Apr 2026
What does the appendix do? Biologists explain the complicated evolution of this inconvenient organ

What does the appendix do? Biologists explain the complicated evolution of this inconvenient organ

(MEDFORD, MA) Most people know only two things about the appendix: You don’t need it – and if it bursts, you need surgery fast. That basic story traces back at least to Charles Darwin, the English naturalist who developed the theory of natural selection. In “The Descent of Man,” he
Phil Starks, Tufts University, Lilia Goncharova 09 Mar 2026

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