A Student’s Breakthrough Discovery Ends a Century-Long Scientific Search!

In a breakthrough discovery, a university student has identified the fungus that makes LSD psychoactive.

“People have been looking for this fungus for years, and one day, I look in the right place, and there it is. I’m very proud of the work that I’ve done at WVU,” says Corinne Hazel, a West Virginia University microbiology student responsible for discovering the fungus.

Hazel discovered it while studying morning glories under Daniel Panaccione, Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences at the West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. While examining the flower, Hazel noticed a bit of fuzz in the seed coat they sent away for genome sequencing. The sequencing confirmed the new species, now named Periglandula clandestina – the latter because of its ability to have eluded researchers for decades. The discovery has promising potential in therapeutics and could eventually be used to help treat depression, PTSD, migraines, Parkinson’s, addiction recovery, and more. “Sequencing a genome is a significant thing. It’s amazing for a student,” adds Panaccione.