Magic-mushroom compound blocks side-effect of chemotherapy in mice

Hello Nature readers,
Today we learn that psilocybin combats a side-effect of chemotherapy in mice, consider a new direction for time’s arrow and enjoy the amusing, enlightening science highlighted by the Ig Nobel prizes.

Psilocybin blocks chemo side-effect

The psychoactive compound psilocybin seems to protect mice from a debilitating side-effect of chemotherapy called neuropathy. As many as 60% of people treated with platinum-based chemotherapy drugs can experience neuropathy, which causes a constant feeling of burning, or pins and needles, in their hands and feet. Just two doses of psilocybin administered before chemo completely prevented the adverse effect in mice, which could argue for expanding the use of psychedelic compounds beyond the conventional uses in mental-health conditions such as depression, says oncologist and study co-author Moran Amit.

Immune therapy engineered inside the body

Sixteen people with autoimmune conditions have had their symptoms relieved by a treatment that produces disease-fighting immune cells inside their bodies. Researchers used a modified virus to deliver the genetic instructions for making chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) on participants’ T cells. These CAR T cells target antibodies produced by other immune cells, which attack the body’s own healthy tissue in autoimmune diseases. The findings are a proof of concept for in vivo CAR-T-cell therapy, says clinician-researcher David Simon, which is cheaper and faster to produce than is lab-made CAR-T.

Pancreatic drug could tackle lung cancer

Results from a small clinical trial show that the drug daraxonrasib (Rasonque) could be an effective treatment for lung cancer. The findings come just one week after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the medicine for the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. A larger study in which people with lung cancer are randomly assigned to receive daraxonrasib or standard chemotherapy is now under way, the results of which could inform the FDA’s decision to approve the drug as a lung cancer treatment.

Futures: City of slop

A pair of rebels lose their way in an AI-generated metropolis in the latest short story for Nature’s Futures series.

A new direction for ‘time’s arrow’

In Time’s Second Arrow, mineralogist Robert Hazen and planetary scientist Michael Wong argue that the natural world’s shift from chaos to intricate order was inevitable. The authors propose the existence of a new law of physics, one that opposes the second law of thermodynamics’ requirement that disorder always increases. “The book is engagingly written and remarkably thought-provoking,” writes geologist Graham Shields in his review. The authors’ argument is “by no means a slam dunk”, but it will probably spark debate among philosophers, he says.

Audio long read: mend DNA to extend life?

DNA damage seems to underlie many of the hallmarks of ageing, including chronic inflammation, metabolic malfunctions and protein-folding problems. But our bodies already have a wonderfully efficient DNA-repair system that heals countless wounds to this molecule — from ultraviolet light, for example — every day. Scientists are asking: if DNA damage is at the root of ageing, can boosting DNA repair slow the process, keeping people healthy for longer? Research into relatively long-lived species, such as bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) and naked mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber), and into the genetics of human centenarians, is sparking fresh optimism about the approach.