Five months after Julia Robers’ half sister Nancy Motes committed drug overdose, her suicide note has surfaced, unveiling why she was so depressed that she decided to take her own life.

Researchers studying the effects of magic mushrooms on the human mind have found the brain displays a similar pattern of activity during dreams as it does during a mind-expanding psychedelic drug trip. An international group of scientists scanned the brains of 15 people before and after they received an injection of psilocybin, the hallucinogen found in the drug.

Treatments to reduce blood sugar levels do more harm than good in many type 2 diabetes patients, new research has found. The study*, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, from researchers from UCL, the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Hospital, found that for many people the benefits of taking diabetes medications are so small that they are …

Scientists who reported in January that they’d found a startlingly simple way to make stem cells have withdrawn the claim, after accusations of falsified data. In two papers published earlier this year in the journal Nature, the researchers reported that they were able to transform ordinary mouse cells into versatile stem cells by exposing them to a mildly acidic environment. Researchers hope …

Women with long-term high blood pressure (hypertension) appear to be at an increased risk for the skin condition psoriasis, and long-term use of beta (β)-blocker medication to treat hypertension may also increase the risk of psoriasis.

A new wasp species uses the bodies of dead ants to protect its nest, researchers have found. The so-called Bone-house wasp, Deuteragenia ossarium, employs the chemical signals of the insect corpses to ward off predators by stuffing them into crevices on the outside of the nest. The new species of wasp, which preys on spiders, was discovered in Jiangxi Province …

The University of B.C. says it’s making progress using a state-of-the-art MRI machine – of which only 12 exist in the world – to study joint aches. The machine is an upright, open MRI that allows a subject to sit, stand or squat while having the procedure, so the effects of the activities on a person’s joints can be observed …

The Chinese government has banned Muslims in the Xinjiang region from celebrating Ramadan, a traditional monthlong period of fasting and spiritual reflection.

A new study recently discovered an interesting fact about kangaroos. The Australian marsupial uses sometimes a fifth leg. Previously, scientist thought the kangaroo’s tail worked as a way to counterbalance and act like a springboard when it hops. “We found that when a kangaroo is walking, it uses its tail just like a leg,” said Associate Professor Maxwell Donelan of …

Tibetans have the unusual ability to breathe and adapt to high altitudes. Now, researchers have found that these people possess this ability thanks to a gene that they picked up when their ancient ancestors mated with a species of human they helped pushed to extinction. This is the first time a gene from another species of human has been shown …

The FBI is releasing more information about a serial child predator who targeted girls across the Carolinas and Georgia. Matthew Coniglio hanged himself in jail in April. Agents hope that more victims will come forward to get the counseling and help they need.