Science Wednesday
In a post on Asian bird flu, Trish Wilson mentioned that PZ Myers, champion of the spineless¹, was looking for more scientific posting.
The Beeb has an article on a promising Type-1 diabetes treatment. Doctors are harvesting the insulin producing cells, islets, from the pancreases of donor cadavers and injecting them into the pancreases of diabetic subjects.
All the subjects have a reduction of insulin need, and one subject seems to have been cured completely. There is a shortage of donors, so research needs to be done on the possibility of production with stem cells, or using cells from living donors.
This is certainly hopeful news for hundreds of thousands of Type-1 diabetics throughout the world who are subject to multiple, often fatal, side effects from the disease, as well as the burden of buying expensive medication and testing equipment.
1. PZ is a biologist who would like to see greater invertebrate representation at The Friday Ark.
