New study finds shrooms to be effective against depression

A recent study has suggested that magic mushrooms may be a promising treatment option for depression in patients who have not otherwise responded to conventional medicine. Researchers from Imperial College London gave psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in mushrooms, to 12 clinically depressed people. After one week, all of them showed "a marked improvement in their symptoms."

From Scientific American:

"That is pretty remarkable in the context of currently available treatments," says Robin Carhart-Harris, a neuropsychopharmacologist at Imperial College London and first author of the latest study, which is published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

The equivalent remission rate for SSRIs is around 20%.

The study's authors are not suggesting that psilocybin should be a treatment of last resort for depressed patients. "Our conclusion is more sober than that—we are simply saying that this is doable," says Carhart-Harris. "We can give psilocybin to depressed patients, they can tolerate it, and it is safe. This gives us an initial impression of the effectiveness of the treatment."

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The Adorable Sculptures of Yen Yen Lo

These images are from a series of wall sculptures created by Yen Yen Lo . Here you can see her intricately textured ceramic pieces, looking downright adorable. Yen Yen Lo's eye for the unique and whimsical is delightful. Apparently they are not intended for kids under 16. Fifteen-year-olds cannot be trusted with fragile stuff. Get them a Funko Pop instead.

What if directors actually looked like the characters in their films?

One of the things I like about the internet is the fact that it provides an endless showcase for the most incredible corners of human creativity. Like, for example, these quirky wooden sculptures by Seattle-based artist Mike Leavitt . For his latest series, King Cuts , Mike transforms some of the most renowned filmmakers into satirical sculptures. They're on view at the Jonathan Levine Gallery in New York until June 11, consists of 16 new hand-carved sculptures of directors like Tim Burton, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino. The artist fused Burton with three of the filmmaker's works; Batman , Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands , while Hitchcock is transformed into one of his own attacking birds. Watch the making of the Tarantino sculpture below. You can also follow Mike on Instagram to see his work in progress.

Good things come in small boxes

Here's a tip: If you lose your child at The Museum of Modern Art, try the MoMa Design Store , where he's likely roaming around and looking for some cool toys. Among the things worth buying is this Science Experiment Toolbox, which contains everything kids as young as four need to conduct over 6 exciting experiments. Made of durable plastic and eco-friendly wood parts, budding engineers, inventors, and problem-solvers will be fascinated by this set. There's a bell ringer, a zoetrope, a waving hand, a climbing frog and a crane to help them learn logical concepts such energy transfer, momentum and gravity. I would have loved this as a kid.

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