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91 Comments
- tuxidomasx, on 10/10/2007, -1/+62clone them *****
- FreakyD, on 10/10/2007, -1/+60Good thing that species has some sort of use or no one would give a *****.
- brokendaylite, on 10/13/2007, -0/+26Diabetes is not just caused by fat ***** eating too much mcdonalds....
My little sister was diagnosed when she was 7...
She was and still is the skinniest thing ive ever seen.
Go die in a fire you ignorant fool. - MajorPaine, on 10/19/2007, -0/+23For those that are curious, the drug is actually based on the venom of the more common Gila Monster -- although the venom of the endangered lizard probably differs little (if at all).
The drug itself is called Byetta, and it IS indeed a "miracle drug". It works by stimulating your body to produce its own insulin (for those that don't make enough) AND also causes you to use the insulin produced by your body more effectively. It also has the side effect of weight loss in the people that take it - so much so that people taking it sometimes lose enough weight that they become no longer diabetic, and can stop taking ALL of thier medications (including the Byetta).
I can attest to its effectiveness personally, since I have been taking it for the last few months. Already I have lost some weight (around 15 pounds) and feel better, and I was able to stop taking insulin immediately (I still have to take some pills though). I also don't seem to suffer from the see-saw affect that I used to get with the insulin (ups and downs of blood sugar).
All in all, a very amazing medicine (especially when you consider that it is made from Lizard Venom)! - swrostmore, on 10/10/2007, -0/+21Where is InGen when you need them?
- Richthofen80, on 10/10/2007, -1/+18You do realize that some people are born diabetic, right?
- ahawks, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16As a type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetic, I can say that no, insulin does not work as a "treatment"
Taking insulin doesn't make diabetes go away. Insulin is life support. With it, I continue to live with diabetes, without it, I die.
(My issue here really is with the article claiming it "treats" diabetes, and not saying any more. Type 1? Type 2? How does it treat? Lower bloodsugar? Improve insulin useage by the body? Enable the pancreas to make new insulin?) - thcobbs, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14This is a sure way to take the "Nearly" out of the lizard's title.
- Chordinator, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11Buried. The article mentions only in passing that it "treats" diabetes. How about some more details?
- JuanCarlosII, on 10/10/2007, -5/+15insulin works too...
- wearescience, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9Hey ***** for brains, not all diabetes is caused by over-eating, often it is genetic.
- SillyRabbits, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9And you expect venom from an almost extinct lizard to be cheaper?
- Spuy767, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8This isn't string input from a command line. If anything they would use a centrifuge, since it's liquid, and attempt to seperate each compound then perhaps analyze it with a mass spectometer if necessary.
- marchetti, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9I guess it'll be completely extinct soon.
- Rickler, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Of course they will do that, you can't patent something that's natural. Take monopoly over the treatment and then sell it highly over priced.
- baalzebub, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7looks like a close relative of the Gila Monster of the southwest...
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -4/+10Let's just hope pharmaceutical companies don't decide to kill them off. You do know why they would do that?
- theragu40, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8Couldn't they parse the chemical makeup of the venom and reproduce it artificially?
- cygnus2112, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8Who the heck thought, "Hey, you know this rare venom? I'm going to try it on this ailing diabetic just for kicks!"
- zengonzo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Which is a pretty good reason for moderate conservation in general.
- thrallie, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5Actually, they wouldn't. Believe it or not, this could be a very lucrative market. A new safe treatment for diabetes? Talk about money making. And in the private sector money makes development of drugs and other products accelerate. Just imagine if the government were to develop this, how long it would take. They have no competition.
- docbob84, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Or maybe what they were ACTUALLY thinking was, "Hey, this venom protein looks an awful lot like human insulin. Maybe it would fit in the receptors and do what the insulin would be doing if it were there. Let's try giving small amounts to targeted people who are not responding to normal insulin therapy, and maybe it will give them a chance at a semi-normal life they couldn't get because insulin didn't work for them." And as an FYI, I'd say that someone with the intelligence to talk about similarities between venom protein and insulin just might have a vague notion of the scientific process.
- Spuy767, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Don't be a dick. Type 1 is genetic,
- Amadeus2490, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5Pharmaceutical companies always take the stupidest, longest way around in order to make and maximize profits: look! Willow Bark relieves pain! Let's synthesize a form of it and call it "Aspirin" so people don't just go out and buy Willow Bark instead!
Oo, look! Lizard Venom is a treatment for diabetes! Let's "do research" on it for 5-20 years and see if we can synthesize a form of it. Then and only then will we talk about it again! - an0nymous, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3even a citation?
- conn0r, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5"clone them *****" is pure gold
- brokendaylite, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4In what way can this be used to "treat" diabetes?
Is it just an alternative to insulin or is it a "cure"? - ohsin, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4with digg effect i think lizards will die before the server does.
- thawk, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3The component of willow bark (salicylic acid) that kills pain also has a higher incidence of intestinal irritation than aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). It's not the "longest way around," it's a better version than what existed naturally.
Feel free to eat willow bark, though, nobody is stopping you. Enjoy the diarrhea! - SillyRabbits, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4"Believe it or not, this could be a very lucrative market. A new safe treatment for diabetes?"
You mean besides actually exercising and eating a reasonable diet? I know, I know, that's crazy talk.... - musters, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I thought the Canadian's invented insulin in the 19th century to treat diabetes...
- Spuy767, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Perhaps a diabetic was bitten by one of these lizards?
- Spuy767, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3If the alternative is being bitten by a lizard, I think I'll wait for the drug. Seriously tho, the first pharma that comes out with a cure for anything will just ass ream the consumer and the insurance companies who in turn pass the ass reaming onto the consumer, and claim that they need to charge 300$ for 25 mcg of a drug because of R&D costs. I swear, sometimes, greed blinds people to the very nature of a free market.
- moofer, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I was thinking the same thing. They're far more plentiful. I wonder if any research is going on with them as well. There are only two venomous lizards in the world, the Gila Monster being the other. It would be interesting to see how closely related (if at all) they are...
http://student.britannica.com/comptons/article-203991/lizard - ScottoGato, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Here's the website for Byetta:
http://www.byetta.com/index.jsp - Gizmort, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Byetta has changed my life. I have lost 75 lbs. in 8 months. My sugars are very stable. Truly is a miracle drug.
- Spuy767, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4COngratulations for being the only person ever on digg to link some bootleg assed briannica article instead of wiki.
- tomniscientia, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Just wondering, you have type 2 diabetes, correct? I have type 1 myself. Also, how do you administer the drug?
- swr1ght, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Killing the last 200 of them?
- FreakyD, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3The same guy who ate the silica gel packs that now read "DO NOT EAT"
- psion01, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Yep, just like nearly extinct cattle. Oh wait, we tend to ensure the survival of animals we find useful, don't we?
- heartcoldfusion, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3OH MY GOD!!! IT'S GENETIC? HOLY *****!!!!!!!!!
***** retards, read the comment. When did I say anything about it not being genetic? My comment had nothing to do about diabetes being genetic or not.
The fact that none of the three people mentioned anything about knowing the difference between Type I and Type II diabetes leads me to believe that they don't know what the ***** they are talking about. - zengonzo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2My point being that the process wouldn't be random, docbob. But thanks for the lesson on awareness.
- Rileyper, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Mmmmm....Venomous Insulin
- MrColdheart, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2"Is there still time to save this endangered species so that it can help save us?"
looks a job for DIGG - Crosshare, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2FYI, this is the creatures natural predator:
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b25/jmbt/diabeetus.jpg - TypeEE, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2weight loss + cures diabetes = kill 2 birds with one stone.
- Spuy767, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I for one think the the forces that shaped evolution successfully for so many years have been all but eliminated, and that the geen pool could use some serious work, but the part of me that revers the life of my fellow man thinks this is a good deal.
- theragu40, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Parse: to break something down into units that can be analyzed.
That definition seems to work to me.
I'm sorry I'm not a chemist, I was just pointing out that they probably don't have to harvest the venom directly from the lizards if they don't want to endanger the species further. - HoldingOn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I wish the article had supplied more details as to how the venom "treats" diabetes
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