Electric power was transmitted from the coil structure at left to the coil and attached lightbulb at right withoutt wires. Image courtesy MIT

In this hour, we'll learn more about a medical mystery: the placebo effect. One researcher has found out what happens in patients' brains when they take placebos.

We'll also talk to a researcher who lit up a 60-watt bulb from seven feet away -- with no wires. He thinks he's on to a way that laptops and cell phones could recharge themselves.

And finally, a former EPA administrator will tell us why he thinks the agency is not prepared to protect the environment --and us --from any hazards that nanotechnology might produce. Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (3-4 Eastern). Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.

Guests:
Tor Wager
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
Columbia University
New York, New York

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Andre' Kurs
Graduate Student
Department of Physics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Terry Davies
Senior Advisor
Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Washington, DC

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This segment produced by Ann Marie Cunningham