A single dose of psilocybin reduced nerve pain in mice for several weeks and made the common painkiller gabapentin significantly more effective, according to new research from the University of Reading.

Researchers have confirmed the enzyme caffeylpyruvate hydrolase (CPH) completes the recycling loop in the fungal bioluminescence pathway, sustaining continuous light emission in fungi. The enzyme breaks down oxyluciferin into caffeic and pyruvic acids, allowing the fungus to recycle light-producing molecules while potentially recovering some of the energy used in the process. The findings, published in The FEBS Journal, could enable the design of brighter, more efficient self

German food tech startup Formo has obtained self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status in the US for its precision-fermented αS1-casein, the most abundant protein fraction in cow's milk, enabling sales to American food manufacturers. Formo engineers a food-grade E. coli strain to express recombinant αS1-casein in stirred-tank bioreactors, producing a single, characterised protein fraction after cell lysis, separation, and purification, with no living microorgani

A single 5g dose of psilocybin-containing mushrooms (Enigma strain) was associated with striking short-term functional improvements in an octogenarian with a decade-long history of advanced Alzheimer's disease, including the return of spontaneous speech, urinary continence, and independent movement. Psilocybin acts on serotonin 5-HT2A receptors to alter large-scale brain network dynamics and may promote structural neural plasticity, potentially making residual functional capa

Fungal-derived sacchachitosan, extracted from the medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum, offers a sustainable and shellfish-free alternative to conventional chitosan for wound care applications.