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Magic mushrooms reversed aging in mice, human cells live 50% longer [1]

['Ellsworth Toohey']

Date: 2025-07-24

Magic mushrooms might be the next breakthrough in anti-aging medicine, according to new research that shows the psychedelic compound psilocybin not only extended mice's lives but made them look younger too.

The Emory University study, published in Nature Partner Journals' Aging, found that elderly mice given psilocybin lived 30% longer than untreated mice. More surprisingly, they showed visible signs of youth – their fur became thicker and regrew in balding areas. In laboratory tests, human skin and lung cells exposed to psilocin (the compound formed when psilocybin is consumed) lived 50% longer than untreated cells.

The timing is significant, as Americans face shorter lifespans compared to other developed nations. "My hope is that if psilocybin-assisted therapy is approved as an intervention for depression by the FDA in 2027, then having a better quality of life would also translate into a longer, healthier life," says Dr. Ali John Zarrabi, director of psychedelic research at Emory's Department of Psychiatry and study co-investigator.

The research suggests psilocybin works by reducing cellular stress, repairing DNA damage, and protecting telomeres – the protective caps on chromosomes that shorten with age. "Most cells in the body express serotonin receptors, and this study opens a new frontier for how psilocybin could influence systemic aging processes, particularly when administered later in life," explains Louise Hecker, PhD, the study's senior author.

Previously:

• Police raid Oakland's psychedelic mushroom church

• Mycologist answers the internet's questions about mushrooms

• Research into magic mushrooms pondered by Arizona legislators

• Shrooms decriminalized in Washington D.C. as of today

• Author Mark Dery's account of taking magic mushrooms as a treatment for angst

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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2025/07/24/magic-mushrooms-reversed-aging-in-mice-human-cells-live-50-longer.html

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