The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the suit in Austin, Texas, federal court, charging that the telecom company violated the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The applicant “indisputably had the necessary experience and expertise” to perform the job of cable splicer technician in Austin, and had even safely performed a similar job for AT&T previously, the EEOC says in a release announcing the settlement.

“Employers who respond to disabled individuals with knee-jerk exclusions based on myths, fears and stereotypes, rather than considering individual abilities, put themselves at risk,” said EEOC lawyer Eduardo Juarez.

Also under the settlement, AT&T agreed to provide training regarding the ADA to all staffing managers at its non-management staffing office located in San Antonio.

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A new genetic analysis published Genome Research suggests that the vitamin interacts with genes specific for diabetes as well as colorectal cancer, multiple sclerosis and other ailments, according to a WebMD summary.

Researchers looked at the binding of vitamin D receptors to gene regions previously identified with different diseases, finding evidence of increased binding for the diseases. Vitamin D was shown to regulate genes involved in autoimmune disease and cancer.

The next challenge for researchers is to better understand how that interaction could cause the diseases, said one of the study’s scientists, Sreeram Ramagopalan, in a WebMD interview.

Far larger doses of vitamin D than are now recommended may be in order to benefit from its disease-preventing power. Current recommendations call for 200 IU (international units) daily for those up to age 50, 400 for people 51 to70 and 600 for those over 70. Ramagopalan says 2,000 IU may be needed.

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Fifty-six percent of diabetics who had developed the disease recently and followed the meal plan for four years were found to not subsequently require antihyperglycemic drugs, compared with 70% of patients on the standard low-fat diet recommended by cardiologists, according to an ABC News summary.

The Mediterranean diet consisted mainly of vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats such as olive oil and poultry and fish instead of red meat. Women were restricted to 1,500 calories per day and men to 1,800, and no more than half of all calories could come from complex carbohydrates while no less than 30% of daily calories came from fat.

The others followed a low-fat regimen endorsed by the American Heart Association, rich in whole grains while restricting fats, sweets and high-fat snacks. The caloric limits were the same as for the Mediterranean diet group, but no more than 30% could come from fat and no more than 10% from saturated fat.

The findings emphasize the impact of lifestyle interventions, often overlooked by doctors too quick to medicate, the authors say.

The study is published this week in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

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The research, culled from state health survey data, finds 7.8% of adult Californians had diabetes in 2007, compared with 6.2% in 2001. Thirty-four percent are overweight, and 23% obese.

All racial and ethnic groups experienced increases, though rates among American Indians, African-Americans and Latinos were disproportionately large. Both conditions were also more common among the poor, but all income groups as well saw increases.

The striking numbers illustrate the need for radical measures, the study’s authors say.

“When so many people of different ages, income and educational levels, and cultural backgrounds are struggling with obesity and diabetes, it suggests that going on a diet is not enough,” said co-author Allison Diamant in a press release announcing the results. “We need to take a hard look at the environmental and structural factors that contribute to these conditions.”

Among the study’s recommendations are increasing access to recreational facilities and parks, promoting policies to foster farmers markets and generally improve access to healthy food.

Diabetes is estimated to cost the state $24 billion annually, with $17 billion spent on direct medical care and $7 billion on indirect costs associated with the disease.

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The Diabetes Friendly Foundation will place three “diabetes-alert” pooches with children this year, says founder Cole Egger in a DogChannel.com article. Next year, the foundation is aiming to place more than 10.

The dogs are trained to sniff out dangerously high and low blood sugar levels. But there are only about 100 in the United States. Training costs range from $3,000 to $15,000, Egger says.

DFF is holding a fundraiser Nov. 12 in Dallas, and it is soliciting requests for adoptions. Recipients must be type 1 diabetics under the age of 12. Apply here.

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The product, which straps on the wrist and alerts users to dangerously low blood sugar levels, sold out last year, and since then maker Diabetes Sentry Products has been trying to raise $250,000 for replenishing the inventory.

The company looking for the right investor, though the weak economy has made the search tougher, says Michael Russin, vice president of sales and marketing, in a Star Tribune interview.

But would-be investors are likely wary of the product’s seeming outdated in short order, according to the Star Tribune. Bigger medical technology companies — including Abbott Labs, Dexcom and Medtronic – are in the market. Medtronic is known to be studying ways to relay its monitor’s readings to cell phones.

But while the Diabetes Sentry retails for $495, Medtronic estimates that its integrated system will cost about $1,500 at first, plus $1,000 annually in maintenance fees.

Diabetes Sentry’s cost and simplicity guarantee it will have its own market, Russin says.

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Research from the University of Pittsburgh finds mothers who did not breastfeed were nearly twice as likely to develop type-2 diabetes than women who had breastfed or never had children. Mothers who did breastfeed all their children were no likelier to become diabetics than women who never gave birth.

The disparities remained after controlling for age, race, physical activity and tobacco and alcohol use.

The study, published in the September American Journal of Medicine, covered 2,233 women aged 40 and 78. Fifty-six percent of mothers reported having breastfed an infant for at least one month, while 27% percent of mothers who did not breastfeed went on to developed type 2 diabetes.

Breastfeeding’s beneficial impact results from its ability to decrease maternal belly fat, said Pitt professor Eleanor Bimla Schwarz in announcing the results.

“Our study provides another good reason to encourage women to breastfeed their infants, at least for the infant’s first month of life,” she said. “Clinicians need to consider women’s pregnancy and lactation history when advising women about their risk for developing type 2 diabetes.”

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The study, focused on nearly 2,000 people aged 57 to 85, finds nearly 70% of men with sexual partners  and 62% of partnered women engaged in sex two to three times a month, on par with diabetes-free people.

The diabetic men, however, were more prone to experience erectile dysfunction, lose interest in sex or climax too quickly, while both men and women with diabetes more often failed to achieve climax.

Barriers to sexual activity seem tougher for female diabetics. Women with diabetes were far less likely than the non-diabetics to have sexual partners or to discuss sexual problems with a doctor.

The findings — derived from in-home interviews, self-administered questionnaires and medication audits — reveal diabetics need not diminish sexual activity but many diabetics are struggling with sexual problems, said lead study author Stacy Lindau, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and of medicine at the University of Chicago, in a press release announcing the results.

“Patients and doctors need to know that most middle age and older adults with partners are still sexually active despite their diabetes,” Lindau said. “However, many people with diabetes have sexual problems that are not being addressed.”

The study appears in next month’s issue of Diabetes Care.

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