In control
A high dose of the psychedelic psilocybin temporarily dissolves brain networks, Laura Sanders reported in “Psilocybin erases brain ‘fingerprints’” (SN: 8/10/24, p. 12).
In the study, a generic form of the stimulant Ritalin served as a control against psilocybin. Reader Jason Patrick asked why scientists chose that drug.
It can be hard to design studies of psychedelics because the drugs’ effects are usually obvious to both researchers and participants, Sanders says. Though the control, called methylphenidate, and psilocybin produce very different experiences, the drugs have some similarities, Sanders says. Both affect levels of chemical messengers in the brain and can increase the body’s arousal, elevating heart rate and blood pressure.
A ribbiting story
Some Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs are immune to the deadly chytrid fungus called Bd, hinting at ways to save frog species worldwide, Martin J. Kernan reported in “Bouncing back” (SN: 8/10/24, p. 22).
Enlightened by the story, reader Devin J. Starlanyl reflected on the frogs in his community. “I became more educated about the potential threat to frogs in our own ecosystems, and how easily they can be threatened,” Starlanyl wrote. “Our evenings in spring are enhanced by the songs of our brook frogs. We have named the leaders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Our lives would be much dimmer without the songs of Guilde and Rozie the Ribbiter,” he wrote. “I plan to contact our conservation commission about how to secure the health of our brook and our frogs.”
Debunked displays
UFOs probably aren’t aliens, so scientists are searching for the real origins of what are now called unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs, Sid Perkins reported in “UFOs get a rebrand” (SN: 8/10/24, p. 16).
The story reminded reader Don Wolman of alleged UFO sightings in Utah in the 1960s. A 1978 paper in Applied Optics suggested that the mysterious light displays were probably caused by swarms of spruce budworm moths, not aliens. As the insects “flew through electrified air in the sky, their legs and antennae glowed with St. Elmo’s fire,” Wolman wrote. The atmospheric phenomenon produces glowing plasma around objects in an electrically charged field.