https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Unlike our organs, cell organelles such as mitochondria are not fixed in place, but when, where, how, and why organelles move remain unclear. Research published in the Biophysical Journal shows that when beta cells—the pancreatic cells that produce insulin—are exposed to high levels of glucose, their mitochondria move toward the cell's periphery. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-mitochondria-migrate-cell-membrane-response.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 18 Dec 2025 11:00:01 EST news685187227 Researchers have converted human stem cells into insulin-producing cells and demonstrated in mice infused with such cells that blood sugar levels can be controlled and diabetes functionally cured for nine months. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-diabetes-mice-rapidly-human-stem.html Biotechnology Tue, 25 Feb 2020 07:38:09 EST news501838680 Tufts University researchers have transplanted engineered pancreatic beta cells into diabetic mice, then caused the cells to produce more than two to three times the typical level of insulin by exposing them to light. The light-switchable cells are designed to compensate for the lower insulin production or reduced insulin response found in diabetic individuals. The study published in ACS Synthetic Biology shows that glucose levels can be controlled in a mouse model of diabetes without pharmacological intervention. https://phys.org/news/2019-11-insulin-producing-cells-diabetes.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 02 Nov 2019 05:55:32 EDT news491892921 By combining two powerful technologies, scientists are taking diabetes research to a whole new level. In a study led by Harvard University's Kevin Kit Parker, microfluidics and human, insulin-producing beta cells have been integrated in an "Islet-on-a-Chip". The new device makes it easier for scientists to screen insulin-producing cells before transplanting them into a patient, test insulin-stimulating compounds, and study the fundamental biology of diabetes. https://phys.org/news/2019-08-pancreas-chip-scientists-combine-organ-on-a-chip.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 29 Aug 2019 08:00:01 EDT news486281322 New Zealand researchers have uncovered a new mechanism that controls the release of the hormone insulin in the body, providing hope for those with a genetic susceptibility to type 2 diabetes. https://phys.org/news/2016-12-diabetes-link.html Biochemistry Mon, 05 Dec 2016 07:56:55 EST news400146170 For decades, researchers have tried to duplicate the function of beta cells, the tiny insulin-producing entities that don't work properly in patients with diabetes. Insulin injections provide painful and often imperfect substitutes. Transplants of normal beta cells carry the risk of rejection or side effects from immunosuppressive therapies. https://phys.org/news/2016-03-scientists-painless-patch-insulin-producing-beta.html Materials Science Mon, 14 Mar 2016 12:38:43 EDT news377177914 Researchers at the Pediatric Diabetes Research Center (PDRC) at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have shown that the pancreatic protein Nkx6.1 – a beta-cell enriched transcription factor – is essential to maintaining the functional state of beta cells. https://phys.org/news/2013-09-protein-essential-beta-cell-function.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 12 Sep 2013 12:00:04 EDT news298199005 In the biggest result of its kind in more than ten years, physicists have made the most sensitive measurements yet in a decades-long hunt for a hypothetical and rare process involving the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. https://phys.org/news/2012-06-underground-neutrino-properties-unveils-results.html General Physics Mon, 04 Jun 2012 14:00:01 EDT news258036635 A myriad of inputs can indicate a body's health bombard pancreatic beta cells continuously, and these cells must consider all signals and "decide" when and how much insulin to release to maintain balance in blood sugar, for example. Reporting in Nature Chemical Biology last month, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have teased out how these cells interpret incoming signals and find that three proteins relay signals similar to an electrical circuit. https://phys.org/news/2010-12-onoffonoff-circuitry-insulin-releasing-cells.html Biochemistry Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:40:01 EST news211136872 Researchers have found a way in mice to convert another type of pancreas cell into the critical insulin-producing beta cells that are lost in those with type I diabetes. The secret ingredient is a single transcription factor, according to the report in the August 7th issue of Cell, a Cell Press journal. https://phys.org/news/2009-08-insulin-producing-cells-flip.html Biochemistry Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:10:01 EDT news168788864