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Intensive lifestyle changes aimed at modest weight loss reduced the rate of developing type 2 diabetes by 34 percent compared with placebo in people at high risk for the disease, researchers conclude based on 10 years of data.

Participants randomly assigned to make lifestyle changes also had more favorable cardiovascular risk factors, including lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels, despite taking fewer drugs to control their heart disease risk, according to the study.

Intensive lifestyle changes aimed at modest weight loss reduced the rate of developing type 2 diabetes by 34 percent over 10 years in people at high risk for the disease.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and 26 other sites nationwide determined the results from the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS), a 10-year follow-up study of patients who participated in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). The results appear in the Oct. 29, 2009, online edition of The Lancet.

Metastases are responsible for over 90% of cancer deaths. In the upcoming issue of G&D, Dr. Robert Weinberg (MIT) and colleagues lend molecular insight into how microRNAs suppress tumor metastasis.

Scott Valastyan, lead author on the study, describes it as presenting "detailed mechanistic insight regarding the process of tumor metastasis, and identifies several key regulators of this process that might prove to be interesting diagnostic and/or therapeutic targets in breast cancer."

Two genetic mutations that may put individuals at increased risk of fungal infections have been identified by scientists from UCL and Radboud University, increasing understanding about the genetic basis of these infections and potentially aiding the development of new treatments.

PHILADELPHIA –- An international team of environmental scientists led by the University of Pennsylvania has shown that sea-level rise, at least in North Carolina, is accelerating. Researchers found 20th-century sea-level rise to be three times higher than the rate of sea-level rise during the last 500 years. In addition, this jump appears to occur between 1879 and 1915, a time of industrial change that may provide a direct link to human-induced climate change.

The results appear in the current issue of the journal Geology.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Fire is often thought of something that trees should be protected from, but a new study suggests that some trees may themselves contribute to the likelihood of wildfires in order to promote their own abundance at the expense of their competitors.

The study, which appears in the December 2009 issue of the journal The American Naturalist, says that positive feedback loops between fire and trees associated with savannas can make fires more likely in these ecosystems.

New York, NY, October 28, 2009 – Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to treat menopausal estrogen deficiency has been in widespread use for over 60 years. Several observational studies over the years showed that HRT use by younger postmenopausal women was associated with a significant reduction in total mortality; available evidence supported the routine use of HRT to increase longevity in postmenopausal women. However, the 2002 publication of a major study, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), indicated increased risk for certain outcomes in older women, without increasing mortality.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have shown that adult stem cells from bone marrow can prevent acute lung injury in a mouse model of the disease.

Their results are reported online in the October issue of the journal Stem Cells.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is responsible for an estimated 74,500 deaths in the U.S. each year. ALI can be caused by any major inflammation or injury to the lungs and is a major cause of death in patients in hospital ICUs. There is no effective drug treatment.

STANFORD, Calif. — Human embryonic stem cells derived from excess IVF embryos may help scientists unlock the mysteries of infertility for other couples struggling to conceive, according to new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine. Researchers at the school have devised a way to efficiently coax the cells to become human germ cells — the precursors of egg and sperm cells — in the laboratory. Unlike previous research, which yielded primarily immature germ cells, the cells in this most-recent study functioned well enough to generate sperm cells.

For the first time, scientists in the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University Health Network have successfully used gene therapy to repair injured human donor lungs, making them potentially suitable for transplantation into patients. This technique could significantly expand the number of donor lungs by using organs that are currently discarded, and improve outcomes after transplantation.

HOUSTON -- (Oct. 28, 2009) – Inflammation still ravages the lungs of some smokers years after they quit the habit. What sparks that smoldering destruction remained a mystery until a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine found that certain dendritic cells in the lung – the cells that "present" a foreign antigen or protein to the immune system – provoke production of destructive T-cells that attack a key protein called elastin, leading to death of lung tissue and emphysema.

Researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health have discovered how to transform human embryonic stem cells into germ cells, the embryonic cells that ultimately give rise to sperm and eggs. The advance will allow researchers to observe human germ cells—previously inaccessible—in laboratory dishes.

Insoluble dietary fibre, or roughage, not only keeps you regular, say Australian scientists, it also plays a vital role in the immune system, keeping certain diseases at bay.

The indigestible part of all plant-based foods pushes its way through most of the digestive tract unchanged, acting as a kind of internal broom. When it arrives in the colon, bacteria convert it to energy and compounds known as 'short chain fatty acids'. These are already known to alleviate the symptoms of colitis, an inflammatory gut condition. 1

Researchers are using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and satellite-linked data loggers to learn more about turtle behavior in commercial fishing areas and to develop new ways to avoid catching turtles in fishing gear. This marks the first time an ROV has been used to follow turtles in the wild to learn about their behavior and how they interact with their habitat.

New research finds that adult neurons can still regenerate as long as 15 months after a spinal cord injury. The study, published by Cell Press in the October 29th issue of the journal Neuron, highlights the success of a strategy that targets multiple environmental and intrinsic obstacles known to limit nervous system plasticity and regeneration.