New Atlas

Medical Audio available

Clustered stem cells become working insulin producers in potential cure for diabetes

Nick Lavars February 11, 2019

Medical scientists have made a promising breakthrough in diabetes research, describing a novel technology that converts stem cells into insulin-secreting beta cells by harnessing an often overlooked step in their maturation.

Scientists at the University of California San Francisco have made a promising breakthrough in pursuit of ...

Medical Audio available

MIT's new oral capsule injects insulin through microneedles

Michael Irving February 7, 2019

Plenty of work has gone into developing an insulin pill as an alternative to injections, but that comes with its own challenges. Now, an MIT team has created a new design for a capsule that houses a microneedle made of insulin, which injects the hormone through the stomach lining.

MIT's new insulin-delivering capsule contains a microneedle that injects the hormone into the bloodstream through the ...

Biology

Turning stem cells into insulin-producing cells could lead to "functional" diabetes cure

Michael Irving January 17, 2019

A possible diabetes cure could be found by replenishing a patient’s own supply of beta cells, which naturally produce insulin. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are a step closer to that kind of treatment, after tweaking the recipe for turning stem cells into beta cells.

Created from induced pluripotent stem cells, these new beta cells are already producing insulin, which could ...

Medical Audio available

Stanford scientists warn of insulin shortage growing to affect 40 million diabetics

Nick Lavars November 21, 2018

A new study led by Stanford scientists forewarns of massive gaps in access to the life-saving hormone insulin as the diabetes epidemic continues to worsen. So much so, that half of those who need it simply might not be able to get it.

The number of diabetes sufferers is expected to rise over the coming decade. What does mean ...

Medical Audio available

The natural sugar that reduces the risk of diabetes in mice

Michael Irving August 26, 2018

Researchers have discovered a new way to reduce the risk of diabetes – sugar. Trehalose is a natural sugar that has now been found to deprive the liver of glucose and activate a gene that improves insulin sensitivity and triggers the burning of more fat.

A comparison of the livers of different groups of mice – left is a healthy mouse ...

Medical Audio available

Novel anti-obesity drug unexpectedly discovered while researching insulin resistance

Rich Haridy August 21, 2018

New research by a team of Australian scientists has unexpectedly revealed a novel anti-obesity drug. Initially working to create a drug that prevents insulin resistance the researchers discovered in early animal tests that it instead prevented the animals from depositing and storing fat.

A new anti-obesity compound has been accidentally discovered by scientists who were researching insulin resistance

Medical

Needle-free: 10-year study confirms rare diabetes can be treated with tablets

Nick Lavars June 5, 2018

For a long time, insulin injections have simply been a fact of life for people – including babies – suffering from neonatal diabetes. But a new 10-year study has now shown tablets to be just as effective, with recipients hailing the new approach as a "miracle treatment."

Needles could now be a thing of the past for sufferers of neonatal diabetes

Medical

Oral insulin proving successful in human clinical trials

Rich Haridy May 17, 2018

Orally administered insulin, a game-changing treatment, is one step closer to reality with a final Phase 2b human clinical trial underway to prove the drug's efficacy before it reaches the final stages of trials and registrations that could bring it to market within a few short years.

Insulin in a pill is one step closer to reality as clinical trials progress

Medical

Spider web inspired implantable "string" could control diabetes

Rich Haridy January 2, 2018

A team of researchers has developed a revolutionary new method for treating type 1 diabetes. Inspired by a spider’s web the team created an easily implantable nanoporous thread that can hold hundreds of thousands of insulin-producing islet cells and be easily removed when they need to come out.

Medical

Yale study discovers how very low calorie diets could reverse type 2 diabetes

Rich Haridy November 9, 2017

For some time there have been claims that not only can type 2 diabetes be controlled by diet, but it can also be reversed, effectively curing the disease. Researchers have now uncovered key mechanisms that could explain how a very low calorie diet can reverse type 2 diabetes

The study identified three metabolic mechanisms that are stimulated by a very low calorie diet and ...