Got… Insulin?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Over 10 percent of Americans have diabetes. With not enough insulin to regulate blood sugar, diabetics have to—ouch—inject it. If only we could just DRINK our insulin… wait… could we?
Paulo Monzani and a team from the University of Illinois wondered … “What about milk?”
They took a piece of insulin-producing human D-N-A and inserted it into cow embryos, targeting breast tissue. These embryos were implanted into uteruses. Result? One magic calf! Her milk had detectable levels of insulin! Needles be gone!
Researchers estimate a cow could produce the equivalent of twenty-nine-thousand doses of insulin per liter of milk! And dairy cows produce up to fifty liters of milk PER DAY. You do the math—
Udder-ly amazing!
Reference: Monzani, P. S., Sangalli, J. R., Sampaio, R. V., Guemra, S., Zanin, R., Adona, P. R., Berlingieri, M. A., Cunha‐Filho, L. F., Mora‐ Ocampo, I. Y., Pirovani, C. P., Meirelles, F. V., Wheeler, M. B., & Ohashi, O. M. (2024). Human Proinsulin production in the milk of transgenic cattle. Biotechnology Journal, 19(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.202300307