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SAN DIEGO, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Dolphins can induce diabetes when food is scarce and turn it off when food is abundant, said California scientists looking for a cure for humans.
The unique ability may result from a dolphin's need to maintain high blood sugar levels for its large brain -- an ability possibly lost by humans through evolution, said Stephanie Venn-Watson, a veterinary epidemiologist at the National Marine Mammal Foundation in San Diego.
"It is our hope that this discovery can lead to novel ways to prevent, treat and maybe even cure diabetes in humans," said Venn-Watson, who made the discovery while researching dolphins off the coast of Southern California.
By taking blood samples from dolphins who had become comfortable around researchers, Venn-Watson found they could induce type II diabetes during times of fasting when food was scarce and then almost immediately turn it off when food once again was available, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.
People may have had the same ability because there is evidence a fasting gene still exists in humans, she said.
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (UPI) --
A woman who says she had an affair with President John F. Kennedy wrote that she didn't feel at the time she was "invading the Kennedys' marriage."
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MESA, Calif., Feb. 10 (UPI) --
Jesse Farrelly, the 20-year-old son of filmmaker Bobby Farrelly, has died in Costa Mesa, Calif., after a long battle with drug addiction, his family said.
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ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, Feb. 10 (UPI) --
A water sample from Lake Vostok, hidden under Antarctic ice for millions of years, has been presented to Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, scientists say.
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BIRMINGHAM, England, Feb. 10 (UPI) --
A British company said it is opening salons across England dedicated to the tattooing the scalps of bald men to make it look like they have short hair.
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