IN the late 1980s, Linda A. Rosa, a registered nurse working in Denver, Colorado, was deluged with brochures promoting courses for nurses in crystal healing, color therapy, and a technique called “therapeutic touch,” derived from the laying-on of hands. All the courses fulfilled the continuing education credits then required for state relicensure of nurses in Colorado, but none appeared to have any scientific basis. Aghast at this antiscientific trend in nursing, Rosa began to investigate the research and claims behind therapeutic touch.