2012-12-02

Mind over Medicine We’ve all heard about placebos, those phoney sugar pills that doctors sometimes hand out to trick people into thinking they’ve been medicated. It’s all about using the extraordinary healing power of positive thinking. Well, now researchers are making revolutionary advances in the science of placebos. So much so, it’s gone way beyond swallowing fake tablets to cure minor ailments. They’ve now got patients undergoing pretend operations to fight disease and chronic pain, and the results are nothing short of remarkable. Reporter: Allison Langdon Producers: Jo Townsend, Phil Goyen Accidental Genius It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood movie, an ordinary bloke takes a blow to the head and then, suddenly, incredibly is transformed into a genius. Far fetched right? Well you’re about to meet three people who’ve gone through that experience in real life. They’ve all suffered some kind of brain damage and survived to become gifted musicians, mathematicians and artists. Scientists call them acquired savants. It’s a fascinating field of study and it could just hold the key to making us all a whole lot smarter. Reporter: Liam Bartlett Producer: Howard Sacre The Master He’s given us some of Hollywood’s most memorable moments: Jaws rearing from the ocean, a young Drew Barrymore face to face with E.T, Indiana Jones trapped in a snake pit. And those are just a few scenes from an incredible career that spans four decades and 27 films. Stephen Spielberg is the most successful film maker of his generation, maybe of all time. Yet, as Lesley Stahl of American 60 Minutes discovered, he still panics before every new project. Reporter: Lesley Stahl, CBS 60 Minutes Producers: Ruth Streeter, Rebecca Peterson The Vanishing When Liz Hayes first met conservationist Chris Darwin two years ago – great, great grandson of the naturalist Charles Darwin – she was a little taken aback. He’s unconventional to say the least. And unusually generous. To combat what he calls our “biggest extinction period in history”, he bought up vast tracts of prime Australian bush. So, when the miners and their trucks began to muscle in on his land, he embarked on a series of experiments just like his famous Great Great Granddaddy. (This story is an update to the original story broadcast on: 27th June, 2010) Reporter: Liz Hayes Producer: Jo Townsend