By Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica

In clinical trials, new drugs are often compared to older treatments, but sometimes they’re also compared to placebos — inert treatments that ought to have no effect. Except that’s not what happens. The placebo effect can actually be pretty strong, and even more strangely, placebos can work even when the patient knows they’re being given one.

NASA announced this week it has awarded the $1.35 million prize for its CAFE Green Flight Challenge to the team from Pipistrel-USA.com. The twin-fuselage, four-seat electric airplane beat out the eGenius team from Germany during two competition days held last week at the Sonoma County Airport in California. The eGenius team will take home $120,000 for second place and another $10,000 for a separate competition from the Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize for the quietest aircraft during the week.

Of the 14 teams originally signed up for the competition, only four made it to California, and only...