Researchers found that magic mushrooms and fiber caps independently evolved different biochemical pathways to create psilocybin. This convergence shows nature’s ingenuity, but the reason why remains unknown—possibly predator deterrence. Beyond evolutionary mystery, the discovery provides new enzyme tools for biotech, with promising applications for producing psilocybin-based medicines.
What Are Psychedelic Entities?
The beings people often meet while using psychedelics resist tidy explanations.
Wild About Mushrooms: Contents
Copyright © 1987, 2000 by Louise Freedman and the Mycological Society of San Francisco A MykoWeb and MSSF Page
PTAB Affirms §101 Rejection of Psilocybin Composition, Post-Appeal Prosecution Results in Granted Patent
PTAB Finds that Psilocybin Formulation Is Not a Product of Nature, Further Prosecution Leads to Issued Patent
Biohub releases a world model of protein biology
Open AI models used for a wide range of scientific applications, including accelerating the design of therapeutic molecules.
Invisible Designers: Brain Evolution Through the Lens of Parasite Manipulation
AbstractThe ability of parasites to manipulate host behavior to their advantage has been studied extensively, but the impact of parasite manipulation on the evolution of neural and endocrine mechanisms has remained virtually unexplored. If selection for countermeasures has shaped the evolution of nervous systems, many aspects of neural functioning are likely to remain poorly understood until parasites—the brain’s invisible designers—are included in the picture. This article offers the first systematic discussion of brain evolution in light of parasite manipulation. After reviewing the strategies and mechanisms employed by parasites, the paper presents a taxonomy of host countermeasures with four main categories, namely: restrict access to the brain; increase the costs of manipulation; increase the complexity of signals; and increase robustness. For each category, possible examples of countermeasures are explored, and the likely evolutionary responses by parasites are considered. The article then discusses the metabolic, computational, and ecological constraints that limit the evolution of countermeasures. The final sections offer suggestions for future research and consider some implications for basic neuroscience and psychopharmacology. The paper aims to present a novel perspective on brain evolution, chart a provisional way forward, and stimulate research across the relevant disciplines.
The sky is psychedelic: why so many people see strange lights in the sky
Your brain evolved to see deep meaning in the sky. And UFOs.
Olduvai domains: humanity’s lucky brake
Neoteny—a developmental slowdown that results in the retention of juvenile traits into adulthood—has long been viewed as central to human brain expansion. Olduvai domains are proposed here to function as a dosage-dependent metabolic ‘brake’ that slows development via mitochondrial downregulation. Their human-specific hyperamplification, paired with NOTCH2NL accelerators and new metabolic insights, may solve a century-old evolutionary puzzle.
How The F Does a Mushroom Play Eurorack Modular Synthesizer? I try my best to explain
Let’s Become Fungal!
Inspired by conversations with: Francisca Álvarez Sánchez, Carolina Caycedo, Annalee Davis, Maya Errázuriz, Juan Ferrer, Lilian Fraiji, Giuliana Furci, Sofía Gallisá Muriente, Yina Jiménez Suriel, Patricia Kaishian, Mirla Klijn and Olaf Boswijk, Lola Malavasi and Daniela Morales Lisac, Martina Manterola and Carmen Serra, Camila Marambio, Mariana Martínez Balvanera, Claudia Martínez Garay, Lina Meija and Luciana Fleischman, Tomaz Morgado Françozo and Marília Carneiro Brandão, Marion Neumann, Maria Alice Neves, Tara Rodríguez Besosa, Raquel Rosenberg, Juli Simon, Ela Spalding, Gianine Tabja, Gabriela Flores del Pozo and Lucia Monge, Fer Walüng, Tatyana Zambrano
AI for Drug Discovery Needs Trustworthy Biological Data
To unleash the potential of AI in life sciences and drug discovery, biological datasets must be authenticated, validated, and supported by standardized metadata.
Leading Innovation in Psychiatric Treatment | Alto Neuroscience
We leverage brain biology to develop personalized medicines, helping patients get better faster.
Synthetic Biology of Plants and Microbes for Agriculture, Environment, and Future Applications
Agriculture is under pressure to provide food for a growing population and the feedstock required to drive the bioeconomy. Methods to breed and genetically modify plants are inadequate to keep pace. When engineering crops, traits are painstakingly introduced into plants one-at-a-time, combine unpredictably, and are continuously expressed. Synthetic biology is changing these paradigms with new genome construction tools, computer aided design (CAD), and artificial intelligence (AI). “Smart plants” contain circuits that respond to environmental change, alter morphology, or respond to threats. Further, the plant and associated microbes (fungi, bacteria, archaea) are now being viewed by genetic engineers as a holistic system. Historically, plant health has been enhanced by many natural and laboratory-evolved soil microbes marketed to enhance growth or provide nutrients, or pest/stress resistance. Synthetic biology has expanded the number of species that can be engineered, increased the complexity of engineered functions, controlled environmental release, and can assemble stable consortia. New CAD tools will manage genetic engineering projects spanning multiple plant genomes (nucleus, chloroplast, mitochondrion) and the thousands of genomes of associated bacteria/fungi. This review covers advanced genetic engineering techniques to drive the next agricultural revolution, as well as push plant engineering into new realms for manufacturing, infrastructure, sensing, and remediation.
‘Life or Death:’ AI-Generated Mushroom Foraging Books Are All Over Amazon
Experts are worried that books produced by ChatGPT for sale on Amazon, which target beginner foragers, could end up killing someone.
Termitomyces
Termitomyces is a genus of basidiomycete fungi known as termite mushrooms in Lyophyllaceae family farmed by fungus-growing termites. The fungi and the termites interdepend to live, as the termites house and culture the fungi, and the fungi in turn provide foods for the termites. Often after a raining, the fungi grow mushrooms, which are edible and highly regarded for their flavor.
Societal and technological progress as sewing an ever-growing, ever-changing, patchy, and polychrome quilt — LessWrong
We can just drop the axiom of rational convergence.
