Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Platypuses aren’t entirely the cuddly creatures they appear to be. They boast spurs loaded with excruciating venom – but these painful compounds could be good news for people with diabetes.
Researchers in Australia found a hormone in platypus venom called GLP-1 is also produced in their gut to regulate blood glucose levels. And while the human form of the hormone degrades within minutes, the platypus version lasts hours – which could form the basis of long-lasting diabetes treatment.
The work was published in Scientific Reports.
In animals such as humans and platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1, stimulates production of insulin, a hormone that signals cells to scoop sugar from the bloodstream.
A platypus spur, which delivers a painful (but non-lethal) injection of venom.
AUSCAPE / GETTY IMAGES
But patients with type 2 diabetes – a condition that will develop in at least one in three Americans – are unable to use insulin properly. And the short period that GLP-1 stimulates insulin before breaking apart isn’t long enough to regulate sugar levels.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/platypus-venom-ingredient-may-help-treat-type-2-diabetes
First lizard spit, now platypus venom! 😱 🙂
Researchers in Australia found a hormone in platypus venom called GLP-1 is also produced in their gut to regulate blood glucose levels. And while the human form of the hormone degrades within minutes, the platypus version lasts hours – which could form the basis of long-lasting diabetes treatment.
The work was published in Scientific Reports.
In animals such as humans and platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1, stimulates production of insulin, a hormone that signals cells to scoop sugar from the bloodstream.
A platypus spur, which delivers a painful (but non-lethal) injection of venom.
AUSCAPE / GETTY IMAGES
But patients with type 2 diabetes – a condition that will develop in at least one in three Americans – are unable to use insulin properly. And the short period that GLP-1 stimulates insulin before breaking apart isn’t long enough to regulate sugar levels.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/platypus-venom-ingredient-may-help-treat-type-2-diabetes
First lizard spit, now platypus venom! 😱 🙂