Placebo Effect
The placebo effect is when a persontakes something they believe is medicine for an ailment they are suffering(which is not really a medicine), and they get better. A placebo is an inert substance, and when taken (with the advice from others that it will cure them)makes
the person get better, simply because they were expecting or believed that it would work. Something similar, called the nocebo effect, is when aperson takes fake drugs and thinks they are experiencing problems that would have been caused by the real drugs. They have been known to reduce pain as well. Why they occur is mysterious and they are only one of the many complicated things related to the body-brain connection. In fact, our own bodies hold many unsolved mysteries.
Pan spermia
How didlife on earth appear? Science suggests that life started when the planetwas favourable for habitation. Yet did microscopic organisms just pop out ofnowhere? One hypothesis is panspermia, whichsuggests that €˜seeds of life€™ exist everywhere
around the universe, andthat life on earth started when these €˜seeds€™ came here, probably by ameteor. It also suggests that these
seeds are taken to other habitableplaces in the universe. Something similar to this is exo-genesis. It suggeststhat life was brought to
earth those billions of years ago, however it doesnot say that life is also taken to other habitable places. Somepeople
believe aliens brought life to our planet, as suggested by thetheories of Erich Von Daniken. Although some are sceptical as to how
lifecould exist in space and get carried to other planets, there is substantialevidence that certain life forms, like spores and
certain types of bacteria can actually exist in space, perhaps in a dormant state.
Mass extinctions
From the death of the dinosaurs, to the disappearance of the creatures inthe Permian Era, mass extinctions are occurring even now.
Sometimes, the cause is clear. We are destroying the biosphere and the atmosphere, and scientists predict that in the next 100 years, 50% of all living species will become extinct. But sometimes, the realreason is unclear. It may have been due to competition from other species,
dramatic climate changes, or the impacts from an asteroid/meteor (the last one being quite a popular one). Yet some questions remain unanswered. Why was it that some species died out, and others survived,some to this day (famous example: the coelacanth).
During the extinction of the dinosaurs, crocodiles and turtles were around, but they survived, even to this day, while the dinosaurs, the pterosaurs, the marine reptiles and others died out. While some people believe that those species were unable to cope with the (possibly) new surroundings, others are not convinced. To this day,they are a mystery, and without a time machine, we may never know. Other popular theories include:- flood basalt events,smaller asteroid showers, global warming/cooling, sea level drops.
The placebo effect is when a persontakes something they believe is medicine for an ailment they are suffering(which is not really a medicine), and they get better. A placebo is an inert substance, and when taken (with the advice from others that it will cure them)makes
the person get better, simply because they were expecting or believed that it would work. Something similar, called the nocebo effect, is when aperson takes fake drugs and thinks they are experiencing problems that would have been caused by the real drugs. They have been known to reduce pain as well. Why they occur is mysterious and they are only one of the many complicated things related to the body-brain connection. In fact, our own bodies hold many unsolved mysteries.
Pan spermia
How didlife on earth appear? Science suggests that life started when the planetwas favourable for habitation. Yet did microscopic organisms just pop out ofnowhere? One hypothesis is panspermia, whichsuggests that €˜seeds of life€™ exist everywhere
around the universe, andthat life on earth started when these €˜seeds€™ came here, probably by ameteor. It also suggests that these
seeds are taken to other habitableplaces in the universe. Something similar to this is exo-genesis. It suggeststhat life was brought to
earth those billions of years ago, however it doesnot say that life is also taken to other habitable places. Somepeople
believe aliens brought life to our planet, as suggested by thetheories of Erich Von Daniken. Although some are sceptical as to how
lifecould exist in space and get carried to other planets, there is substantialevidence that certain life forms, like spores and
certain types of bacteria can actually exist in space, perhaps in a dormant state.
Mass extinctions
From the death of the dinosaurs, to the disappearance of the creatures inthe Permian Era, mass extinctions are occurring even now.
Sometimes, the cause is clear. We are destroying the biosphere and the atmosphere, and scientists predict that in the next 100 years, 50% of all living species will become extinct. But sometimes, the realreason is unclear. It may have been due to competition from other species,
dramatic climate changes, or the impacts from an asteroid/meteor (the last one being quite a popular one). Yet some questions remain unanswered. Why was it that some species died out, and others survived,some to this day (famous example: the coelacanth).
During the extinction of the dinosaurs, crocodiles and turtles were around, but they survived, even to this day, while the dinosaurs, the pterosaurs, the marine reptiles and others died out. While some people believe that those species were unable to cope with the (possibly) new surroundings, others are not convinced. To this day,they are a mystery, and without a time machine, we may never know. Other popular theories include:- flood basalt events,smaller asteroid showers, global warming/cooling, sea level drops.
