Shrooms: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

A surprise under a Mexican supermarket made the list
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 3, 2016 5:39 AM CST
Shrooms: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week
Magic mushrooms are seen at the Procare farm in Hazerswoude, central Netherlands.   (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

A study suggesting that magic mushrooms have a place in the cancer ward and a surprise find under a Mexican supermarket were among the discoveries of the week:

  • Magic Mushrooms Had Big Effect on Cancer Patients: Two studies of cancer patients with symptoms of depression and anxiety suggest that a single dose of psilocybin—think magic mushrooms—has immediate positive effects, ones that persisted more than 6 months later among most patients. One likened it to an "epiphany."

  • 650-Year-Old Temple Found Under Mexican Supermarket: Archaeologists working at the site of a demolished supermarket in Mexico City only had to dig 10 feet down to find a temple built more than 650 years ago. The circular platform, about 36 feet in diameter and 4 feet tall, now sits in the shadow of a shopping mall under construction, and the public will eventually be able to view it. Researchers think they know which god it honored.
  • Scientists Explain Deadly Wave of Molasses in Boston: Nearly a century after what researchers call a "tsunami of molasses" descended on Boston, Harvard physicists say that fluid dynamics equations that hadn't yet been written now explain why the disaster proved so deadly—and that the cold weather is partly to blame. When the tank first burst, the molasses moved at a speed that is a little hard to fathom.
  • New Theory on What's Hurting Astronauts' Vision: One serious drawback for astronauts is that they often return to Earth with degraded vision, and a new study may have pinpointed the problem. It's a buildup of spinal fluid around the eyes, say University of Miami researchers. This cerebrospinal fluid is the stuff that cushions the brain and keeps it safe when we move around, but the lack of gravity in space seems to throw it out of whack—and that results in uncomfortable-sounding changes to eyeballs.
  • These Mummy Legs Likely Belong to a Great Queen: Archaeologists say they've likely identified the mummified remains of "one of the truly great and important queens of Egypt," in the same league as Nefertiti and Cleopatra. Three portions of mummified legs found more than a century ago almost certainly belonged to Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramesses the Great, who ruled during Egypt's 19th Dynasty about 3,300 years ago. The sandals were one clue.
Click to read about more discoveries. (More discoveries stories.)

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