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Global warming may present a threat to animal and plant life even in biodiversity hot spots once thought less likely to suffer from climate change, according to a new study from Rice University.

Research by Amy Dunham, a Rice assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, detailed for the first time a direct correlation between the frequency of El Niño and a threat to life in Madagascar, a tropical island that acts as a refuge for many unique species that exist nowhere else in the world. In this case, the lemur plays the role of the canary in the coal mine.

ORLANDO, Fla., June 26 – Elevated blood levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or "good" cholesterol, typically thought to protect against heart disease, may do the opposite in women with type 1 diabetes, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study being presented at the 70th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

ORLANDO, Fla., June 26 – Consuming higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids does not appear to lower heart disease risk for women with type 1 diabetes, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study being presented at the 70th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

ORLANDO, Fla., June 26 – People with type 1 diabetes who have early and asymptomatic kidney damage, as indicated by small amounts of protein in the urine, are six times more likely to die compared to the general population, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Their study, being presented at the 70th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association, also found that when kidneys remained normal over time, people with type 1 diabetes had no greater risk of death than their healthy counterparts.

PHOENIX, Ariz. — June 26, 2010 — Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) will make two presentations at this week's 70th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association, June 25-29, in Orlando, Florida.

One presentation describes a DNA study of American Indians in Arizona, in which a TGen-led team discovered a genetic biomarker with a significant association to kidney failure.

The rediscovery of a fern, long thought to be extinct, is part of a rescue effort to save the plants of the tiny UK overseas territory of Ascension Island in the South Atlantic – a fitting success story during the UN's International Year of Biodiversity(1).

Human embryonic stem cells hold great promise for studying and treating disease and for the practice of regenerative medicine. However, more must be learned to ensure the cells that may one day be transplanted into humans are safe.

International team of Italy-US scientists reports discovery of a new mechanism of avian influenza virus circulation and transmission in nature

Why are tropical forests so biologically rich? Smithsonian researchers have new evidence that the answer to one of life's great unsolved mysteries lies underground, according to a study published in the journal, Nature.

A mechanism that regulates stem-cell differentiation in mice testes suggests a similar process that may trigger degenerative disease in humans, according to a Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences reproductive physiologist.

Research involved manipulating a protein called STAT3 that signals stem cells to decide whether to differentiate into a specialized type of cell or self-renew and remain stem cells. By manipulating STAT3, researchers identified a key regulator of spermatogonial stem cell self-renewal.

MILWAUKEE – What determines plant diversity in a forest? It's a question even Charles Darwin wanted to unravel. But most research into forest diversity demonstrates only patterns of species survival and abundance rather than the reason for them – until now.

A team of researchers led by biologists at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM) has shown that soil-borne pathogens are one important mechanism that can maintain species diversity and explain patterns of tree abundance in a forest.

NEW YORK, June 24, 2010—A unique collaboration among physician-scientists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) has yielded the most comprehensive genomic analysis of prostate cancer to date. "Genomic studies in other cancer types have resulted in new drug targets and strategies to classify patients into clinically meaningful subgroups that improve treatment decisions," said senior study author Charles Sawyers, Chair of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at MSKCC and a HHMI investigator.

Between 1998 and 2007, psychotropic medications were associated with 429 adverse drug reactions in Danish children under the age of 17. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Studies have published an article in the open access journal BMC Research Notes concluding that more than half of the 429 cases were serious and several involved birth defects, such as birth deformities and severe withdrawal syndromes.

St Louis, MO – Current research suggests that resveratrol, a naturally occurring compound found in red wine, grapes, blueberries, peanuts, and other plants, inhibits pathogenic new blood vessel growth. The related report by Khan et al, "Resveratrol regulates pathologic angiogenesis by a eukaryotic elongation factor-2 kinase regulated pathway," appears in the July 2010 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.