Science series. Horizon explores why placebos work, despite containing no active ingredient, and explains how we could all benefit from their hidden power.
They are the miracle pills that shouldn't really work at all. Placebos come in all shapes and sizes, but they contain no active ingredient. Now they are being shown to help treat pain, depression and even alleviate some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Horizon explores why they work, and how we could all benefit from the hidden power of the placebo.
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Clips
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What Can Placebos Do?
Duration: 01:34
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Can a placebo make you cycle faster?
Duration: 02:54
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Placebos used without deception
Duration: 02:21
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
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00:02James Lavelle
Ablivion
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00:14Mumford & Sons
The Cave
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00:14Die drei ???
015 - Duell Der Topmodels (Teil 3)
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00:15Kasabian
Cutt Off
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00:17Portishead
Numb
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00:31Foals
Inhaler
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00:42Death in Vegas
Flying
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Producer | Olly Bootle |
| Director | Olly Bootle |
| Series Editor | Aidan Laverty |
Broadcasts
Mon 17 Feb 2014 21:00- Tue 18 Feb 2014 23:20BBC Two except Northern Ireland & Scotland
- Fri 28 Feb 2014 23:25BBC Two Northern Ireland
- Wed 26 Mar 2014 09:00
- Tue 2 Jun 2015 23:00
- Thu 11 Jun 2015 02:30
- Sun 28 Jun 2015 19:00
- Mon 29 Jun 2015 02:35
- Mon 6 Feb 2017 01:45
- Tue 28 Mar 2017 01:20
- Tue 25 May 2021 22:55
- Wed 12 Apr 2023 00:25
- Wed 19 Apr 2023 01:00