It seems to be a maxim of modern journalism that monkeys make for good press; here's a photo essay (and accompanying blog post) from the MIT Technology Review, following up on a couple of recent articles on calorie restriction (CR) studies in rhesus macaques: "Nine of the animals on normal diets have died of age-related causes such as diabetes and cancer; only five of the [calorie restricted] monkeys have died of such causes. Colman predicts that it may take another decade to see whether substantial survival differences between the two groups emerge. But there is some evidence that the diet prevents diabetes. Three of the monkeys on an unrestricted diet have the disease, while none of the dieters do. Two monkeys on the restricted diet had early signs of diabetes when they started the regimen, but their symptoms quickly abated." It seems folk can be much more proactive about diabetes than sitting back and waiting for better drugs or a last minute biotechnological rescue.

Link: http://www.technologyreview.com/BioTech/17723/