Thursday, March 6, 2008

Jumping on Insulin

Apparently, the "paradoxical frog" secretes a substance which promotes insulin release. The frog is so named because it actually shrinks as it gets older, from a 27mm tadpole to 4mm as an adult. Now we have a new reason to call it "paradoxical": it may allow doctors to treat Type II diabetes by exacerbating the key symptoms of the disease (elevated insulin and insulin resistance).

Here's the press release: Reuters (2008, March 5). South American Frog Secretions Stimulate Insulin Release, Could Offer Diabetes Treatment Hope. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 6, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/03/080304224051.htm

No comments: