Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence of adolescent type 1 diabetes was steadily increasing at a rate of 1.9% per year in the United States and 3-4% per year in European countries (3,7). Since the pandemic, however, several studies have reported an unprecedented surge in type 1 diabetes in children and teenagers.
Continue reading “COVID-19 and Type 1 Diabetes: Exploring the Potential Link”diabetes
Our Top Three Most-Viewed Blog Posts of 2022
In 2022, our bloggers wrote on topics ranging from monkeypox outbreaks to cultured meat in biotech labs to preventing the next pandemic. Our top three most-viewed blog posts this year have the commonality of Promega products helping to advance important research in different fields and push science a step forward in the world. Take a look at Promega’s top three most-viewed blog posts of 2022.
Continue reading “Our Top Three Most-Viewed Blog Posts of 2022”Infographic: Assays for Measuring Insulin Activity
We rely on insulin supplied by our pancreas at the right dose and at the right time to control our blood glucose levels and energy storage. Insulin works by regulating the energy usage of various cell types in the body. When this process goes awry, it can cause diabetes.
There are two types of diabetes, defined by how insulin is dysregulated. In Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), the pancreas produces too little insulin. Patients need to give themselves insulin in order to respond to glucose in the diet. In Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), patients do not respond well to the insulin produced in their body. Therefore, they need to give themselves more to avoid hyperglycemia (high blood glucose).
Continue reading “Infographic: Assays for Measuring Insulin Activity”Ancient Origins of a Human Gene Associated with Diabetes
Recently, researchers of the SIGMA Type 2 Diabetes Consortium published a paper in Nature identifying a new locus associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes (1). Considering the increasing prevalence of this metabolic disease in today’s sugar-filled world, any discovery that helps us understand diabetes is exciting news. However, the most interesting discovery published in this paper might not be this new gene variant but rather the origin of this variant in modern human populations: Neandertals.
Continue reading “Ancient Origins of a Human Gene Associated with Diabetes”
The Link Between Childhood Adversity and Cellular Aging
Adversity and stress are known risk factors for psychiatric disorders, cardiovascular and immune disease, cognitive decline and other health problems. The long-term negative effects of adversity seem to be greatest if the traumatic events were experienced during childhood, when the brain and other biological systems are developing and maturing. Researchers are working to identify the mechanisms involved and have identified telomere shortening as one possible mechanism by which adversity increases morbidity and mortality. Continue reading “The Link Between Childhood Adversity and Cellular Aging”
