A series of new studies across Emory University, Baylor College of Medicine, and multiple research groups reveal psilocybin — the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms — may do far more than ease depression and anxiety. In controlled experiments, human lung and skin cells treated with psilocin (the metabolized form of psilocybin) lived over 50% longer before reaching senescence. Markers of aging such as oxidative stress dropped, DNA repair improved, and telomeres — protective chromosome caps that shorten with age — were preserved.⁠ ⁠ Mice aged to the human equivalent of 60–65 years, given low and then monthly higher doses of psilocybin for 10 months, showed dramatically better survival: 80% were still alive compared to 50% of untreated mice. They also looked healthier, with improved fur quality and reduced white hairs. Scientists believe psilocybin’s interaction with serotonin receptors throughout the body activates pathways like SIRT1, a known regulator of aging and stress response...