I have seen that other countries are working on cures for diabetes but I see very little news coverage of it in the USA. I have been following Diabcell in New Zeland and now a long acting insulin from India.
In true Ferengi spirit, US research focuses on profit opportunity. Exactly what kind of profit is there in a cure for diabetes?
But, I am harsh, there is research on a cure, the JDRF was actually originally motivated to look for a cure and the work of researchers like Denise Faustman has been all over the news in the last few years. You won’t find that many drug companies doing work on a cure or having press releases because after all they are Ferengi and have even bigger ears than I.
Most of what gets reported in the media here in the US is driven by politics, sensationalism, and self-promotion, as almost all other news is sadly. The JDRF, ITN and NIH all support vasts amount of research and very little of that hits the news because many of the studies are in the early stages or don’t yet show enough promise to be considered ‘sexy’ enough for prime-time. For those with a vested interest in diabetes research, it’s best to visit the websites of those organizations directly and see what studies are getting started and what studies have been published.
Actually, the media is the worst place to go for news here. It’s often sensationalized and inaccurate (I’ve seen reporters make the oppose conclusions as a study’s others!). Skepticism becomes a natural defense every time you see a ‘cure’ reported. So many promising therapies just don’t pan out…after years and years of work.
Yes… I was just thinking about this exact thing, right now… How they never care to publish or share research from other countries out here…
Journalists aren’t paid to read other languages nor to peruse their scientific literature.
They need multiple by-lines to give them freedom to do something different.
The only way we hear of other scientific literature in diabetes is on the web.
News coverage, bah.