Talk of the Nation on KAZU

A placebo can take the form of a sugar pill or even a fake surgery. It's often used to test the effectiveness of a trial drug. Ted Kaptchuk, director of Harvard University's Program in Placebo Studies and the Therapeutic Encounter, discusses potential applications for the healing power of placebos.

A federal advisory board has urged scientific journals not to publish the research from two labs that have developed an airborne flu virus. Microbiologist Vincent Racaniello discusses why the move sets a bad precedent. Biosecurity expert D.A. Henderson talks about the risks of publishing the research.

New state laws reflect controversial national issues such as immigration. They also regulate local concerns from requiring teaching about important gay figures in California schools to limiting when New Yorkers can fertilize their lawns. NPR's Corey Dade and Pam Fessler discuss 2012's new laws.

After more than 20 years as a columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Pulitzer Prize-winner Cynthia Tucker left to become a visiting professor at the University of Georgia. She edited the editorial page for the paper for eight years until she was reassigned as a political columnist.

Middle childhood was often thought of as a developmental placeholder between toddler and teen years. But a special issue of Human Nature explains that's when children learn to reason, control impulses, understand and accept mortality and plan for the future, among other developmental milestones.