Psychedelic medicine faces an array of obstacles

+ the last time Greenland's ice melted; why Hurricane Debby stalled US Edition - Today's top story: Psilocybin legislation is helping psychedelic drugs make a comeback – a drug researcher explains the challenges they face [View in browser]( US Edition | 7 August 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( As a Coloradoan, I’ve had a front-row seat to the fraught controversies surrounding legislation over the use of psilocybin – better known as “magic mushrooms” – for medicinal purposes. In November 2022, just days before more than half of Colorado citizens approved Proposition 122 to decriminalize and regulate certain psychedelic plants and fungi, The Denver Post editorial board wrote a strongly worded opinion piece: “The psilocybin mushroom ballot question – Proposition 122 – goes too far, too fast for Colorado. We urge voters to say ‘no.’” Drug researcher Benjamin Y. Fong from Arizona State University explains the [rise of the “psychedelic renaissance”]( and some of the challenges that have arisen in its wake in Colorado and Oregon, including high costs and setting qualifications for providers. Fong describes the burgeoning interest in the supervised use of psilocybin for a range of hard-to-treat health conditions, such as depression and PTSD, and the various state regulations that are under consideration. He notes that activity at the state level will likely inform federal regulations of the nascent drug development industry for psychedelic medicines. Also in this week’s science news: - [CAPTCHA human verification needs to change due to AI]( - [Menopause raises risks for STIs]( - [How can there be water on the Moon?]( If there’s a subject you’d like our team of science editors to investigate, please reply to this email. Amanda Mascarelli Senior Health and Medicine Editor Psilocybin mushrooms have been approved for therapeutic use in Oregon and Colorado. The Washington Post via Getty Images [Psilocybin legislation is helping psychedelic drugs make a comeback – a drug researcher explains the challenges they face]( Benjamin Y. Fong, Arizona State University Pharmaceutical giants like Johnson & Johnson as well as smaller startups are investing in psychedelic drug development, and both are pursuing FDA approval for their patented psilocybin formulations. Under a microscope, a tiny elongate poppy seed, small tan spikemoss megaspores and black soil fungus spheres found in soil recovered from under 2 miles of Greenland’s ice. Halley Mastro/University of Vermont [Ancient poppy seeds and willow wood offer clues to the Greenland ice sheet’s last meltdown and a glimpse into a warmer future]( Paul Bierman, University of Vermont; Halley Mastro, University of Vermont Our discovery of a tundra ecosystem, frozen under the center of Greenland’s ice sheet, holds a warning about the threat that climate change poses for the future. Firefighters in Savannah, Ga., carry food to residents in a neighborhood cut off by Tropical Storm Debby’s floodwater on Aug. 6, 2024. AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton [Tropical Storm Debby loiters along the Carolinas, bringing days of heavy rain and flooding – a climate scientist explains why]( Mathew Barlow, UMass Lowell With Debby’s storm track, much of the East Coast is forecast to get soaked. Climate change also plays a role in the downpours. [Wildfires can create their own weather, including tornado-like fire whirls − an atmospheric scientist explains how]( Kyle Hilburn, Colorado State University Fire-produced thunderstorms and tornado-like fire whirls are more common than anyone realized, as high-resolution satellite images and data now show. [A new ‘guest star’ will appear in the sky in 2024 − a space scientist explains how nova events work and where to look]( Vahe Peroomian, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Your favorite TV show isn’t the only place where guest stars might appear. Keep an eye on the sky for the second half of 2024 and you might be able to witness a rare astronomical event. [Oceans without sharks would be far less healthy – new research]( Michael Heithaus, Florida International University A broad review of shark research shows that sharks play critical roles in keeping ocean ecosystems such as coral reefs and seagrass beds healthy. [Heat risk isn’t just about the highs: Large daily temperature swings can harm human health – maps show who is affected most]( Shengjie Liu, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; Emily Smith-Greenaway, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Mapping daily temperature variations across the US revealed stark differences between wealthy and poor neighborhoods, and large differences by race. [Love for cats lures students into this course, which uses feline research to teach science]( Jonathan Losos, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis Cats provide a purr-fect introduction to science topics, including ecology, evolution, genetics and behavior. [Robocars promise to improve traffic even when most of the cars around them are driven by people, study finds]( Weizi Li, University of Tennessee Long before all vehicles become self-driving, AI could drastically improve traffic conditions. Traffic jams could become a thing of the past when even as few as 5% of cars are driven by robots. - [Chang'e 6 brought rocks from the far side of the Moon back to Earth − a planetary scientist explains what this sample could hold]( Jeffrey Gillis-Davis, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis The far side of the Moon has a very different composition from the near side − so researchers are eager to see what stories these samples will tell. - [Stuck bridges, buckling roads − extreme heat is wreaking havoc on America’s aging infrastructure]( Suyun Paul Ham, University of Texas at Arlington A civil engineer explains why roadways and rails warp and crack in the heat − and points to some innovative ways to keep the US transportation system healthy as long as possible. - [Readers trust journalists less when they debunk rather than confirm claims]( Randy Stein, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Caroline Meyersohn, California State University, Long Beach Providing a correction can affect how the audience feels about the journalists trying to set the record straight. - [Racism and discrimination lead to faster aging through brain network changes, new study finds]( Negar Fani, Emory University; Nathaniel Harnett, Harvard University Black women who are more frequently exposed to racism showed stronger connections in areas of the brain involved in rumination and heightened vigilance, both of which lead to faster biological aging. - [Menstrual cycle is a vital sign and important indicator of overall health − 2 reproductive health experts explain]( - [AIs encode language like brains do − opening a window on human conversations]( - [Menopause increases your risk of STIs due to how aging changes your body]( - [CAPTCHAs: The struggle to tell real humans from fake]( - [How can there be ice on the Moon?]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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