The Check-Up: ‘Shrooms Might Take Years Off Your Personality

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• The hippies were right! Looks like “magic mushrooms”—a.k.a. psilocybin in the medical world—might actually make you a better, more open (less cynical, perhaps?) person. A researcher at Johns Hopkins, who has been testing the drug in volunteers, found marked personality changes in subjects a year after they were introduced to the drug: Subjects became more open to new ideas, more curious and increasingly interested in new experiences—exactly how, say, a 23-year-old might act when he or she is entering a phase of real independence for the first time. Could this be a real fountain of youth for the brain? Read more about the study over here at TIME.com.

• Well, the Danes have done it—they’ve imposed the world’s second “fat tax,” following Hungary’s lead last month in taxing foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt. The move inspired droves of junk-food-loving Danes to launch into full-blown hoarder mode, clearing store shelves and filling their freezers with butter and pizza. Sounds familiar.

• The latest treatment for Alzheimer’s? An insulin-laced nasal spray that appears to slow memory loss.