Category: Mushroom News and Research

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Psilocybin as Treatment For Depression

A groundbreaking UK trial tests psilocybin therapy against common anti-depression medication.

Original Study: Efficacy and safety of psilocybin-assisted treatment for major depressive disorder: Prospective 12-month follow-up

Author: Carhart-Harris et al at Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London

Published: 2021 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology

This UK-based clinical trial compared psilocybin-assisted therapy with escitalopram, a widely used SSRI, in people with moderate to severe depression. Over six weeks, 59 participants were split into two groups; one received two moderate doses of psilocybin with psychological support, the other received daily escitalopram and placebo therapy sessions.

The findings? While both groups showed improvement, the psilocybin group saw greater and faster improvements in well-being, emotional responsiveness, and overall depressive symptoms. In several secondary measures, the psilocybin group outperformed escitalopram significantly despite receiving only two doses compared to daily SSRI use.

What’s especially notable is that psilocybin didn’t just reduce symptoms, it appeared to create a deeper psychological shift, helping patients reconnect with their emotions rather than numbing them. This aligns with growing theories that psychedelics may work by increasing psychological flexibility and disrupting rigid patterns of negative thinking.

This study represents a huge step in rethinking how we treat depression. While SSRIs can be helpful for many, its often reported that they blunt emotional range and they nearly always require long-term use. Psilocybin therapy, by contrast, appears to work in a fundamentally different way, facilitating insight and emotional reconnection through a single supported experience.

To me, this is about more than medication. It’s about the shif from suppressing emotion to transforming them. The fact that this trial happened in the UK, under rigorous controls, shows that the conversation around fungi and mental health is evolving, and it’s backed by science, not just speculation.

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Can Fungi Replace Fertiliser?

A new study shows how plants and fungi could work together to grow healthier crops, without synthetic chemicals.

Original Article: Peptide imitation is the sincerest form of plant flattery, Salk scientists use small peptides to enhance symbiosis between plants and fungi, offering a sustainable alternative to artificial fertilizers

Auther: Salk Institute, based on research by Lena Mueller’s team

Published: 14th April 2025 in 2025, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

This is a personal overview of the article. To dive deeper, I highly recommend reading the original in full.

In our modern era, chemical fertilisers have become the backbone of industrial agriculture but they come at a huge cost to soil health and biodiversity. Facinating new research from the Salk Institute suggests that the solution may lie in restoring a biological relationship we’ve long neglected. The study focuses on a naturally occurring peptide produced by plant roots called CLE16.

Researchers found that CLE16 plays a key role in promoting symbiosis between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (read more about AM Fungi here). When CLE16 was added to the soil it dramatically strengthened the nutrient exchange network between plant and fungi. Even more fascinating: the fungi themselves appear to mimic the plant’s signal, producing CLE16-like peptides to keep the exchange going. This mutual signalling could become the foundation of a natural, scalable alternative to synthetic fertilisers.

The implications are exciting. If this approach proves effective in major crops like wheat, soy, or corn, farmers might be able to replace chemicals with biological inputs. It may reduce pesticide use too, since mycorrhizal fungi are known to enhance plant immunity.

This isn’t the only research heading in this direction. Other global efforts—including studies in Europe and the US—are exploring how to breed crops that favour mycorrhizal relationships. But what’s remarkable about the Salk study is that it isolates a specific molecule (CLE16), offering a practical entry point for applied use in the field.

This kind of work sits at the heart of what sustainable agriculture should look like. Rather than fighting nature with inputs, we’re beginning to listen to what plants and fungi already know how to do. If we can support these underground alliances with understanding we may see more restorative farming practices and move towards more sustainable future.

Want to learn more about fungi networks, research, and microscopy? Explore our other articles or follow us on Instagram or Facebook @omscientific.

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Rooted in Fungi

The Underground Network That Holds Everything Together

Original Article: Five Things You Didn’t Know Abiut Our Underground Fungi

Author: Adam Frew, Research Fellow in Ecology, Charles Sturt University

Published: 31st March 2025

This is a personal overview of the article. To dive deeper, I highly recommend reading the original in full.

This article is about one of the most important research projects being carried out in the fungi world today. It highlights a type of fungi that quietly supports almost all plant life, yet it is only just starting to come into the spotlight.

These aren’t mushrooms you’d spot on a forest walk, they are microscopic, thread-like mycelium that weave through plant roots, trading nutrients and water for sugars. Known as arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, they form one of the oldest and most widespread symbiotic relationships on Earth. Over 80% of all plant species depend on them

Globally, AM fungi are being studied for their role in everything from drought resilience to soil regeneration and carbon storage. Europe, North America, and parts of Asia have made significant progress in mapping species and understanding how mycelium influences ecosystems and agriculture. In the UK, research has looked at how AM fungi interact with native plants, farming practices, and even grassland restoration.

In Australia, where soils are some of the oldest and most nutrient-poor in the world, this vital fungal network has gone largely untracked. That’s what makes this study so important. The article introduces AusAMF, the first nationwide database dedicated to identifying and mapping AM fungi across Australia. It’s a major step towards understanding the health of fungal communities and the ecosystems they support.

In my view, this kind of work deserves far more attention. Fungi is key to biodiversity, climate resilience, and future food systems. If they’re in trouble, we need to know and we need to act.

Want to learn more about fungi networks, research, and microscopy? Explore our other articles or follow us on Instagram or Facebook @omscientific.