Using high-resolution microscopy, researchers have shown how insulin prompts fat cells to take in glucose in a rat model. By studying the surface of healthy, live fat cells in rats, researchers were able to understand the process by which cells take in glucose. Next, they plan to observe the fat cells of people with varying degrees of insulin sensitivity, including insulin resistance-considered a precursor to type 2 diabetes. These observations may help identify the interval when someone becomes at risk for developing diabetes.

(The Endocrine Society) Many people have experienced the frustration that comes with regaining weight that was lost from dieting. According to a new study accepted for publication in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the levels of appetite hormones in the body prior to dieting may serve as a predictor of weight regain after dieting.

Male bedbugs are known to be very unfussy when it comes to mating, mounting any well-fed bug they can see -- regardless of age or gender. Researchers have discovered how immature bedbug nymphs, who would be harmed by the traumatic insemination technique practiced by the males, release alarm pheromones to deter this unwanted attention.

The complex fracture pattern created by the earthquake in Concepción (Chile) on February 27, 2010 was to a certain extent predictable. GPS observations from the years before the earthquake showed the pattern of stresses that had accumulated through the plate movements during the past 175 years in this area.

A portable, laser backpack for 3-D mapping is being hailed as a breakthrough technology capable of producing fast, automatic and realistic 3-D mapping of difficult interior environments.