Placebo - GCSE Biology Definition

A placebo is a substance or treatment that looks like a real drug but does not contain any active ingredients. It is often used in clinical trials to test how effective a new drug is. In a typical trial, one group of people is given the real drug and another group is given the placebo, but neither group knows which one they are receiving. This helps scientists find out whether the effects of the drug are due to the medicine itself or the patient simply believing they are being treated. Understanding how placebos are used is important in GCSE Biology for studying how medicines are tested.