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After the recent fuel price increase, advertisements for fuel saving gadgets have been flooding the newspapers, magazines and radio stations. One type of most frequently advertised fuel saving device are magnets that are attached to the fuel line hose.

There are many fabulous claims made regarding the use of these magnets:

• Save fuel
• Boost engine performance
• More complete burning

…all achieved through some weird process called molecular realignment or similar sounding, technical term that you’ve probably never heard of before. The main question is; Is it for real?

Read the rest of Fuel Saving Magnets: Fact, Myth Or Downright Scam? »

Magnets have always been hyped as the next alternative medical thingamajig. From magnetic bracelets to mattresses embedded with magnetic bits, lots of marketing have gone behind the wonderful powers of magnets. All the while, I’ve always been a skeptic on the purported health benefits of magnets.

Now, boffins from City University in New York suggest that magnets can actually boost mental performance:

Scientists in New York promoted the growth of new neurons in the brains of mice using a magnetic stimulus in the region associated with memory.

Presenting the results at the American Academy for Neuroscience conference, the researchers said the results may lead to treatments for Alzheimer’s.

However, if proven the technique is more likely to be a way of slowing progression of the disease than a cure.

Experts said the work was encouraging but would need to be replicated in humans.