You Can Train Your Body to Think It’s Had Medicine

Researchers reveal the potential of harnessing the mind to reduce side-effects and slash drug costs

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Marette Flies was 11 when her immune system turned against her. A cheerful student from Minneapolis, Minnesota, she had curly brown hair and a pale, moon-shaped face, and she loved playing trumpet in her high-school band. But in 1983, she was diagnosed with lupus, a condition in which the immune system destroys the body’s healthy tissues.