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Children who carry a gene strongly associated with obesity could offset its effect by eating a low energy density diet, according to new research from UCL (University College London) and the University of Bristol published today in PLoS ONE.

The study, based on data from a sample of 2275 children from the Bristol-based ALSPAC study (Children of the 90s) provides evidence that people might be able to avoid becoming obese if they adopt a healthier diet with a low energy density – even those who carry the FTO gene, identified as being a high risk gene for obesity.

Climate change is already having a detectable impact on birds across Europe, says a Durham University and RSPB-led scientific team publishing their findings to create the world's first indicator of the climate change impacts on wildlife at a continental scale.

STONY BROOK, NY, March 3, 2009 – "Undesirable" evolution in fish – which makes their bodies grow smaller and fishery catches dwindle -- can actually be reversed in a few decades' time by changing our "take-the-biggest-fish" approach to commercial fishing, according to groundbreaking new research published today by Stony Brook University scientists in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The toxin produced by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a popular insecticide used to control pest moths and butterflies, and in some GM pest-proof crops. In a study published in the open access journal BMC Biology, researchers show that its effectiveness against a number of susceptible Lepidopteran species depends on the presence of the normally "friendly" bacteria that colonise their guts. Without these bacteria, the Bt toxin can become impotent in some species.

Parents can help their teenagers to never start smoking. A Swedish study published in the open access journal BMC Public Health has found that adolescents respond positively to their parents' attitudes towards smoking.

New research has shown for the first time that portrayals of alcohol in films and TV advertisements have an immediate effect on the amount of alcohol that people drink.

The research, published online today (Wednesday 4 March) in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism [1], found that people who watched films and commercials in which alcohol drinking featured prominently immediately reached for a bottle of beer or wine and drank an average of 1.5 bottles more than people who watched films and commercials in which alcohol played a less prominent role.

In the UK, black Caribbean and black African women have twice as much risk of experiencing severe pregnancy complications than white women, according to research published today on BMJ.com.

The study, the first of its kind undertaken in the UK, also found that Pakistani women have a significantly higher risk of severe pregnancy-related health problems than white women. Today's research reflects previous studies carried out in the US, Canada and the Netherlands.

Globozoospermia is a rare but severe male infertility disorder. Jun Xia and colleagues, at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, People's Republic of China, have now discovered that male mice lacking the protein PICK1 are infertile and that their condition resembles men with globozoospermia, potentially shedding light on this human disorder.

UCSF researchers have found that examining levels of antiretroviral drugs in hair samples taken from HIV patients on therapy strongly predicts treatment success.

The findings, published in the February 20 issue of AIDS, note that the levels of antiretrovirals found in the hair of patients on treatment correlated strongly with levels of HIV virus circulating in patients' blood.

In the mid-90s, the Internet seemed like a dark place. Indeed, scientific studies from that time were documenting some real risks for teenagers, including fewer close friendships and more tenuous connections with family. It appeared that teens were sacrificing real relationships for superficial cyber-relationships with total strangers.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, was led by Jill P. Crandall, M.D., associate professor of clinical medicine and director of the Diabetes Clinical Trials Unit at Einstein.

Diabetes becomes increasingly common with age. An estimated 37 million Americans over the age of 65 have diabetes, almost one-quarter of that population. Another 20 to 30 percent of seniors, an estimated 7.5 to 11.1 million, are not clinically diabetic but have impaired glucose tolerance, which is considered a form of "pre-diabetes."

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Following an acute coronary syndrome such as a heart attack or unstable angina, patients who receive a medication to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding that may be associated with the use of the antiplatelet drug clopidogrel and aspirin have an increased risk of subsequent hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome or death, according to a study in the March 4 issue of JAMA.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and colleagues, have identified a gene that modifies the severity of lung disease in people with cystic fibrosis, a lethal genetic condition. The findings open the door to possible new targets for treatment, researchers say.

The study appeared online last week in advance of print publication in Nature. It is the first published study to search the entire genome looking for genes that modify the severity of cystic fibrosis lung disease.