The blue-banded bee (Amegilla cingulata) is notable not only for its striking blue stripes but also for its 'buzz pollination' technique, where the bee vibrates to release pollen from flowers that other bees cannot access.
📽: Vishal Jadhav
CHART OF THE DAY: The cost of the most important nitrogen fertilizer is back to pre-war levels in the US, benefiting from ample natural gas supply in America. Urea prices are sharply down too in Europe and Latin America, but remain elevated in most of Asia.
“Psilocybin, the psychedelic component of magic mushrooms, has previously been touted as an effective treatment for depression, anxiety, addiction, and PTSD — but now researchers say it has the potential to be used in Alzheimer’s intervention as well.
In this case study, published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, researchers focused on an 80-year-old Japanese American woman with Alzheimer’s. She had declined over the previous decade and was reduced to urinary incontinence, speaking in single syllables, and dependence on caregivers for mobility support and daily living.
She was then given a 5g dose of magic mushrooms.
During the initial phase, she was agitated, sweated profusely and entered a prolonged sleep state that suggested unconsciousness. But around hour 19, she began speaking in full autobiographical sentences, recalling life events she had been unable to articulate for years.
In the days and weeks that followed, more incredible changes emerged. She regained urinary continence, even in the evenings, and began dressing herself. She was able to make and maintain eye contact, remember social interactions, emotionally respond to others, and hold lucid conversations.”