A brief perspective on environmental science in the anthropocene:Recalibrating, rethinking and re-evaluating to meet the challenge of complexity

A convincing case has been made that the scale of human activity has reached such pervasiveness that humans are akin to a force of nature. How environmental science responds to the many new challenges of the Anthropocene is at the forefront of the field. The aim of this perspective is to describe Anthropocene as a concept and a time period and discuss its relevance to the contemporary study of environmental science. Specifically, we consider areas in environmental science which may need to be revisited to adjust to complexity of the new era: (a) recalibrate the idea of environmental baselines as Anthropogenic baselines; (b) rethink multiple stressor approaches to recognize a system under flux; (c) re-evaluate the relationship of environmental science with other disciplines, particularly Earth Systems Science, but also social sciences and humanities. The all-encompassing nature of the Anthropocene necessitates the need to revise and reorganize to meet the challenge of complexity.</p&gt

The genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes

The genetic architecture of common traits, including the number, frequency, and effect sizes of inherited variants that contribute to individual risk, has been long debated. Genome-wide association studies have identified scores of common variants associated with type 2 diabetes, but in aggregate, these explain only a fraction of heritability. To test the hypothesis that lower-frequency variants explain much of the remainder, the GoT2D and T2D-GENES consortia performed whole genome sequencing in 2,657 Europeans with and without diabetes, and exome sequencing in a total of 12,940 subjects from five ancestral groups. To increase statistical power, we expanded sample size via genotyping and imputation in a further 111,548 subjects. Variants associated with type 2 diabetes after sequencing were overwhelmingly common and most fell within regions previously identified by genome-wide association studies. Comprehensive enumeration of sequence variation is necessary to identify functional alleles that provide important clues to disease pathophysiology, but large-scale sequencing does not support a major role for lower-frequency variants in predisposition to type 2 diabetes

Prevalence and clinical challenges among adults with primary immunodeficiency and recombination-activating gene deficiency.

Letter to the Edito

Effects of protein on glycemic and incretin responses and gastric emptying after oral glucose in healthy subjects

© 2007 American Society for NutritionBackgroundDietary interventions represent a promising therapeutic strategy to optimize postprandial glycemia. The addition of protein to oral glucose has been reported to improve the glycemic profile.ObjectiveThe aim of the current study was to evaluate the mechanisms by which protein supplementation lowers the blood glucose response to oral glucose.DesignNine healthy men were studied on 3 d each in a random order. Subjects consumed 300-mL drinks containing either 50 g glucose (Glucose), 30 g gelatin (Protein), or 50 g glucose with 30 g gelatin (Glucose + Protein) in water labeled with 150 mg [(13)C]acetate. Blood and breath samples were subsequently collected for 3 h to measure blood glucose and plasma insulin, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) concentrations and gastric half-emptying time, which was calculated from (13)CO(2) excretion.ResultsThe blood glucose response was less after Glucose + Protein than after Glucose (P ConclusionsIn healthy humans, the addition of protein to oral glucose lowers postprandial blood glucose concentrations acutely, predominantly by slowing gastric emptying, although protein also stimulates incretin hormones and non-glucose-dependent insulin release