Whenever there is a discussion on the use of psychedelic drugs, such as acid or psilocybin (mushrooms), for medical rather than recreational uses, two polarized opinions tend to appear. One group will always emphasize the dangers of these drugs: They may tell stories about people who had bad trips, or were arrested for acting oddly or violently in public. The other group will then comment on how research shows that these drugs have many medical benefits and few negative side effects. The first group may think that the second are drugged-out hippies or drug addicts trying to justify their habit. The second group may think that the first are parroting DARE propaganda without researching the true science of these compounds. The truth? As unsatisfying as it is, it’s hard to say. There are interesting clues as well as contradictions. Recent research from London conducted functional MRIs on volunteers after they received an injection of psilocybin, the functional compound in “magic mushrooms,” and found that there were decreases in the activity... ...

UC Davis researchers have found a method for using an electronic nose to detect if fruit has fully ripened, which in the future could reduce costs for farmers harvesting crops, as well as give researchers a more objective tool for measuring fruit flavor and maturity. The electronic nose, called zNose, uses a technique called gas chromatography to separate and identify the chemical compounds that cause aroma in a blended fruit by vaporizing the compounds. Each compound vaporizes at a different time, which allows the user to detect which compounds are present in the juice. “We use aroma compounds produced by fruits during the ripening process as markers to distinguish between fruits harvested at different maturity stages.” said Simona Vallone, a postdoctoral researcher in the department of plant sciences at UC Davis. The researchers tested the zNose’s ability to detect the ripeness of melons in a laboratory setting as well as in the field. They found that the technique was able to differentiate between the different stages of maturity. “The mixture of... ...

When it comes to fitness, there are a lot of myths out there to talk about. Because people’s bodies can be so different, and because there are many different regimens specially made for different people, wading through all the claims can be very difficult. One movement is known as “confusing your muscles.” The claim is that doing all of your exercises in the same way leads to your muscles adapting to the regimen, making the exercise less effective. Therefore, you should vary your technique in order to confuse your muscles and prevent them from adapting to the exercise, making your workouts more effective. Supposedly. Unfortunately, this is another movement with an interesting idea that doesn’t really pan out. Yes, your muscles do adapt to exercise, so you should increase your routine as you become stronger and introduce a variety of exercises to strengthen different muscles. However, this adaptation is slow and for the most part happens as your muscles heal after a routine, not during the routine itself. There are... ...