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Nature Biotechnology 26, 1092–1093 (1 October 2008) | doi:10.1038/nbt1008-1092

New |[beta]|-cells from old acini

Michael S German

A cure for type 1 diabetes depends on replacing the insulin-producing β-cells in the pancreas that are destroyed by the disease. β-cell replacement has been achieved in some patients by transplantation of cells from human cadaveric donors, but the limited supply of these cells makes this an impractical solution for the vast majority of patients and has led to a search for alternate sources of β-cells.