At Baylor College of Medicine, Hecker and colleagues demonstrate that psilocybin’s active metabolite, psilocin, extends human lung and skin cell lifespans by up to 57%, preserves telomere length, and reduces oxidative stress. In parallel, monthly psilocybin dosing in older mice improves survival rates to 80%, reverses hair loss, and restores hair color, highlighting its potential to modulate key aging hallmarks through telomere maintenance and stress resilience mechanisms.

Key points

• Psilocin extends human lung and skin cell lifespan by up to 57%, maintaining telomere length and reducing oxidative stress.
• Monthly psilocybin administration in aged mice increases survival from 50% to 80%, promotes fur regrowth, and reverses hair graying.
• Study highlights the role of telomere stabilization and Sirt1-mediated stress resilience as mechanisms underpinning psilocybin’s anti-aging effects.

Why it matters: This study reveals that a psychedelic compound can directly target aging biomarkers, potentially opening novel therapeutic strategies for age-related diseases.

A team led by geneticists at the University of Bath and the National University of Mexico analyzes genome data from 46 mammalian species, uncovering that gene duplication events in immune-related families correlate with both increased maximum lifespan and larger brain volumes. By comparing gene family sizes across species with high-quality genome assemblies, they identify expansions in DNA repair and inflammatory gene clusters that may underlie enhanced tissue maintenance and neural development in long-lived mammals.

Key points

• Comparative genomics of 46 mammalian species with ≥80% genome completeness identifies correlations between gene family size and lifespan metrics.
• Expanded gene families include DNA repair genes (e.g., p53 pathway components) and proinflammatory cytokines (notably interleukin-6), implicating dosage effects.
• Phylogenetic regression analysis links gene duplication rates in immunity clusters with maximum lifespan and brain size, controlling for genome quality and evolutionary relatedness.

Why it matters: Linking immune gene duplications to longevity and brain size reveals potential targets for anti-aging therapies and insights into neural maintenance.