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The meat of the announcement, from Fortune[1]: The therapy, which is being tested in a small number of patients with Type 1 diabetes, implants a small capsule

The meat of the announcement, from Fortune[1]: The therapy, which is being tested in a small number of patients with Type 1 diabetes, implants a small capsule under the skin that is teeming with insulin-producing cells made from embryonic stem cells. The capsule acts like an artificial pancreas, creating insulin in diabetic bodies that can’t make their own. [1]http://fortune.com/2016/02/04/diabetes-cure-johnson-viacyte/ http://fortune.com/2016/02/04/diabetes-cure-johnson-viacyte/

adrianN 11y ago
I wonder how long it will be until we get small capsules with genetically engineered liver cells that make us immune against various poisons.
coldpie 11y ago
So this is actually about Type 1? I usually ignore headlines that don't specify, since they're almost always about Type 2.
- tonyedgecombe 11y ago
  It's a shame they don't have different names, so many people get confused between the two.
  - hockeybias 11y ago
    Agreed.
- rincebrain 11y ago
  They say further down that, eventually, if this works, it or something similar could be useful for treating Type 2, but yes, it's about Type 1.
  - reasonattlm 11y ago
    Type 2 doesn't need new biotech. Simple fasting works so well that you have to wonder at the vast numbers of people suffering unnecessarily because they don't just try this. Not becoming obese in the first place works even better, of course. http://www.bbc.com/news/health-13887909 http://www.bbc.com/news/health-13887909
    - chillydawg 11y ago
      Not much to wonder about. Being fat in modern society is incredibly easy as food becomes increasinly addictive and laden with sugar. Sure, it's "easy" to lose weight: eat less, do more. But people don't.
      - ArkyBeagle 11y ago
        It's not easy. People don't manage to do it , so it's not easy. (the anthropic principle: use it)
- gadders 11y ago
  Slightly Offtopic: People I know with Type 1 diabetes are slightly resentful of people with Type 2, and make pains to make clear that their diabetes is not the one associated with obesity and lack of exercise.
  - coldpie 11y ago
    I'm a Type 1 diabetic. I recognize what you're talking about, though I wouldn't phrase it like that. It's not that I'm resentful of people with another disease, but rather the fact that two unrelated diseases have the same name, leading people to assume I've lead an unhealthy lifestyle because I have "Diabetes", while in reality I work very hard to stay healthy. Edit: Actually, reading sibling reasonattlm's comment, I take it back. I do get a bit of resentment. I work very hard to manage my health and my incurable diabetes. It kills me to watch my obese acquaintances slowly work their way into acquiring this awful disease when it could be avoided with relatively little effort.
    - hockeybias 11y ago
      Ditto.
    - gozur88 11y ago
      >It's not that I'm resentful of people with another disease, but rather the fact that two unrelated diseases have the same name, leading people to assume I've lead an unhealthy lifestyle because I have "Diabetes", while in reality I work very hard to stay healthy. That's not a good assumption to make. It's probably true in most cases, but there are lots of people with type 2 diabetes who've never been sedentary or at an unhealthy weight. Sometimes it's just genetic. Also, if you have a condition that requires you to take steroids you can end up with type 2 diabetes as a side effect.
    - gadders 11y ago
      Depends on your friends :-) I have a friend who jokingly tells people "Yeah, I've got proper diabetes, not fat bastard diabetes." I don't think the wish people ill who have Type 2, but I do think they want people to know it's through no fault of their own. It's bit like if a non-smoker had lung cancer. I expect they would be at pains to make clear that they didn't catch it through smoking; that they were unlucky rather than unwise.
- gozur88 11y ago
  Really? Seems like most of the progress recently has been against type 1. In many ways it's an easier problem to tackle.

adrianN 11y ago

I wonder how long it will be until we get small capsules with genetically engineered liver cells that make us immune against various poisons.

coldpie 11y ago

So this is actually about Type 1? I usually ignore headlines that don't specify, since they're almost always about Type 2.

tonyedgecombe 11y ago
It's a shame they don't have different names, so many people get confused between the two.
- hockeybias 11y ago
  Agreed.
rincebrain 11y ago
They say further down that, eventually, if this works, it or something similar could be useful for treating Type 2, but yes, it's about Type 1.
- reasonattlm 11y ago
  Type 2 doesn't need new biotech. Simple fasting works so well that you have to wonder at the vast numbers of people suffering unnecessarily because they don't just try this. Not becoming obese in the first place works even better, of course. http://www.bbc.com/news/health-13887909 http://www.bbc.com/news/health-13887909
  - chillydawg 11y ago
    Not much to wonder about. Being fat in modern society is incredibly easy as food becomes increasinly addictive and laden with sugar. Sure, it's "easy" to lose weight: eat less, do more. But people don't.
    - ArkyBeagle 11y ago
      It's not easy. People don't manage to do it , so it's not easy. (the anthropic principle: use it)
gadders 11y ago
Slightly Offtopic: People I know with Type 1 diabetes are slightly resentful of people with Type 2, and make pains to make clear that their diabetes is not the one associated with obesity and lack of exercise.
- coldpie 11y ago
  I'm a Type 1 diabetic. I recognize what you're talking about, though I wouldn't phrase it like that. It's not that I'm resentful of people with another disease, but rather the fact that two unrelated diseases have the same name, leading people to assume I've lead an unhealthy lifestyle because I have "Diabetes", while in reality I work very hard to stay healthy. Edit: Actually, reading sibling reasonattlm's comment, I take it back. I do get a bit of resentment. I work very hard to manage my health and my incurable diabetes. It kills me to watch my obese acquaintances slowly work their way into acquiring this awful disease when it could be avoided with relatively little effort.
  - hockeybias 11y ago
    Ditto.
  - gozur88 11y ago
    >It's not that I'm resentful of people with another disease, but rather the fact that two unrelated diseases have the same name, leading people to assume I've lead an unhealthy lifestyle because I have "Diabetes", while in reality I work very hard to stay healthy. That's not a good assumption to make. It's probably true in most cases, but there are lots of people with type 2 diabetes who've never been sedentary or at an unhealthy weight. Sometimes it's just genetic. Also, if you have a condition that requires you to take steroids you can end up with type 2 diabetes as a side effect.
  - gadders 11y ago
    Depends on your friends :-) I have a friend who jokingly tells people "Yeah, I've got proper diabetes, not fat bastard diabetes." I don't think the wish people ill who have Type 2, but I do think they want people to know it's through no fault of their own. It's bit like if a non-smoker had lung cancer. I expect they would be at pains to make clear that they didn't catch it through smoking; that they were unlucky rather than unwise.
gozur88 11y ago
Really? Seems like most of the progress recently has been against type 1. In many ways it's an easier problem to tackle.