Minnesota's Psychedelic Medicine Task Force released a new report recommending the decriminalization of psilocybin mushrooms, highlighting three bipartisan-supported ideas …

• Creating a state-regulated clinical program for therapeutic psilocybin-containing mushrooms.
• Decriminalizing the use and possession of psilocybin-containing mushrooms.
• Funding more research into potential health benefits of MDMA, psilocybin, and LSD.

You can access the entire legislative report here: https://www.health.state.mn.us/people/psychmed/docs/legreport.pdf

University of Pittsburgh researchers uncovered a link between Alzheimer’s disease and herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), suggesting that viral infections may play a role in the disease.

The study results, which were published in Cell Reports, suggest HSV-1 infection influences tau protein levels, initially protecting neurons but later contributing to damage.

Senior author of the study, Or Shemesh, said that these findings emphasize the complex interplay between infections, immune responses and neurodegeneration, offering a fresh perspective and potential new targets for therapeutic development.

Check it out: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(24)01460-8

Neuroscience researchers reported their findings regarding a new “molecular lantern” technique that allows them to monitor molecular changes in the brain, non-invasively, using a thin light-emitting probe.

They refer to the new technique as a molecular lantern because it provides information on the chemical composition of brain tissue in response to light. This allows analysis of molecular changes caused by tumors and also by head trauma injuries. The molecular lantern is a probe of less than 1 mm thick, with a tip just a thousandth of a millimetre (a micron), invisible to the naked eye. It can be inserted deep into the brain without causing damage. Here’s more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-024-02557-3

Did you know that former UFC champion Miesha Tate recently revealed that she’s taken mushrooms as part of a healing protocol?

Joining other UFC fighters, such as Cain Velasquez, Ian McCall, and Rashad Evans, Tate has come out of the “psychedelics closet” and recently talked about her experience, saying …

“It was hard though because it brought up some traumas and I had to work through those traumas while being in this different state of mind. And so I cried heavily and I cried deep and then I said, okay now it’s time to let go of this. I’m going to change. I was inside at first and then I went outside to my pool and I just noticed everything about the outside and in a way that I felt like I had never been connected to nature before. And not just nature, but the universe.”

The UFC has actually been quite supportive of psychedelics research.  So much, that it joined forces with Johns Hopkins University a few years ago to explore whether or not psychedelic drugs could serve as effective therapies for the brain health of their fighters.

You can read more about Tate’s experience here: https://www.mmamania.com/2024/12/30/24332078/former-ufc-champ-reveals-healing-through-psychedelics-but-not-going-to-rave-eat-mushrooms-mma