Reddit Reddit reviews The Discovery of Insulin: Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition

We found 6 Reddit comments about The Discovery of Insulin: Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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The Discovery of Insulin: Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition
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6 Reddit comments about The Discovery of Insulin: Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition:

u/ghostmrchicken · 6 pointsr/history


>There's a great book about this called "Breakthrough."

Another good book is "Banting: A Biography" by Michael Bliss (https://www.amazon.com/Banting-Biography-Michael-Bliss/dp/0802073867) and "The Discovery of Insulin: Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition" also by Bliss (https://www.amazon.com/Discovery-Insulin-Twenty-fifth-Anniversary/dp/0226058999/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8)

The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto where the discovery was made once had an exhibit of Banting's artifacts. Included were lab notes, instruments, photographs and the telegram announcing they had won the Nobel. It was very moving to see this in person.

u/sbonds · 3 pointsr/diabetes

You can learn much much more in this detailed, but somewhat dry book:

https://www.amazon.com/Discovery-Insulin-Twenty-fifth-Anniversary/dp/0226058999

I thought it was interesting how little research was being done at the time due to previous premature claims of a cure. Very few scientists wanted to work on learning more about diabetes because the level of disdain for all the prior failed cures was carrying over into new research.

I was also somewhat disgusted by the credit-grabbing that went on after it was clear they really had something. Thankfully, the various egos involved didn't prevent progress on getting insulin ready for humans.

Finally-- a fun fact from this book: a "unit" of insulin today is directly related to the amount of insulin needed to make a fasting rabbit pass out. That was the method used in the early days to figure out how concentrated each batch of insulin was. Dosages would vary depending on how the rabbit tests worked out.

u/ladybugsarecool · 2 pointsr/diabetes

This book is really good for discussion on what life was like before insulin: http://www.amazon.com/Discovery-Insulin-Twenty-fifth-Anniversary/dp/0226058999

I recommend it!

u/Deradius · 1 pointr/Libertarian

>Actually, that was funded by government research, at the University of Toronto, a public government funded research university.

The original discovery of insulin, by Banting, Best, Collip, and McLeod was funded by UT.

I didn't say Eli Lily discovered insulin. I said that they perfected the mass production of insulin, a non-trivial problem. You'd probably enjoy this book. It's a good read.

>I can't think of any cancer treatments that exist that haven't been researched without government funds.

And you know of all possible cancer treatments and their origins?

Further, why are we constraining the discussion to cancer?

Industry does so much research that (for example) there are specific guidelines put out by the FDA for industry gene therapy studies.

In one meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, it was found that 69% of the RCTs were industry funded.

Your original argument seemed to be that the public sector is the only sector capable of funding research on an appreciable scale; I think 69% of RCTs in that meta-analysis being industry funded argues that a substantial proportion of science is and/or can be industry funded.

Now, certainly not every study (not even most studies) are RCTs, but I think we can give industry more credit than you're trying to give it here.

>Mannkind hasn't really done anything to contribute intellectually. The whole notion of insulin and diabetes, again, was not discovered by private companies.

You're aware of everything Mannkind has done, and its current and future impact?

Anything except discovering insulin itself (one of the most major advances in the 21st century) doesn't count as a scientific advancement, then? No True Scotsman.

I'm personally acquainted with at least one patient who has had opportunity to benefit from Mannkind's output.

>What is the intellectual contribution of 454 sequencing?

Here's a brief article outlining the kind of power that 454 sequencing gave to investigators, comparing the Sanger sequencing used by the human genome project and the capability of 454.

Without the development of 454 and similar technologies, we'd still be working on a genome for ten years instead of doing it in ten days. Progress in genomic research has been orders of magnitude faster because of the development of these technologies. It's difficult to overstate the impact.

>You made the claim that you were forced to do something. This is false.

If I don't pay taxes, there will be untenable and physical consequences to that decision.

This is the definition of force.

>Nobody's keeping you here on our land. If you want to live on our land, you have to agree to our terms. That's standard libertarian philosophy here. Our property is ours.

The position I'm taking for the sake of this discussion (and as a member of 'we') is that we change the terms, because the current state of the terms is morally reprehensible. And I can argue that, while staying here. And you still haven't provided a counterpoint.

u/terkla · 1 pointr/HumansBeingBros

If anyone is interested in learning more, try The Discovery of Insulin by Michael Bliss (amazon link). The before/after pictures of diabetic children are horrifying and compelling. It also makes you think hard about what it means to test on animals.

u/HeloisePommefume · 1 pointr/medicine

I'd recommend anything by Roy Porter. His Greatest Benefit to Mankind is a great overview. And he also edited the Cambridge History of Medicine. But as a study of a single event, I have to give a shout out to Michael Bliss's Discovery of Insulin.