The Discovery of Insulin

The Discovery of Insulin

By: Derek Hoogerdijk

During the summer of 1921, Dr. Frederick Banting stumbled upon an article that indicated a possible breakthrough in the research of diabetes. With the help of the graduate Charles Best, working under Banting for Dr. J. J. R. Macleod, Banting began his research that led to the "discovery" of insulin, a pancreatic hormone that regulates the concentration of glucose in the blood. Throughout the following year, the two continued to struggle with this research until, in 1922, they were joined by the biochemist J. B. Collip. Finally, by 1922, this Toronto-based team was able to use bovine pancreas to extract and produce, in fair quantities, the hormone insulin.

All this, however, was not unique, nor was Banting’s team the only one attempting such research. In 1906, Lydia de Witt made an extract from the pancreas of cats that produced a significant drop in blood sugar levels. G. Zuelzer, in 1908, produced an alcohol extract from whole pancreas, which demonstrated a definite fall in blood sugar. However, Zuelzer’s extract produced toxic reactions. The Toronto based team seemed to neglect the work that these two had completed earlier, however their initial results paled in comparison to Zuelzer’s. In 1911, Ernest L. Scott, a graduate student at the University of Chicago, produced results that significantly decreased the blood sugar in diabetic dogs. His dissertation was later printed in the American Journal of Physiology, however it had been changed slightly, with the effect of making his research seem inconclusive. Later, Scott described his methods to Macleod after the Toronto team became stuck on the problem of purifying their extracts. When Banting and Best published their results in 1922, they acknowledged the use of Scott’s techniques. Finally, in 1921, while the Toronto team was still working on their research, Nicholas Paulesco, a Rumanian physiologist, published results of his own experiments that produced a notable reduction in the blood sugar of diabetic dogs. Although the extract was pure, Paulesco was only able to develop it in limited quantities. Banting’s team, however, thought that Paulesco’s results showed no significant success.

In 1923, Dr. Frederick Banting and Dr. J. J. R. Macleod were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work in the discovery of insulin. Although neither of the other two members of the Toronto team were mentioned, Banting shared his own prize money with his associate, Charles Best. None of the other research teams, however, were given any notice or recognition.

Questions

Charles Best did not receive the Nobel Prize in 1923 because he was working as a graduate student for Dr. J. J. R. Macleod. Is it fair that a graduate student doing research is not recognized for the work done?

Why was the work of so many researchers neglected before Banting and Macleod were recognized for their own acheivement? What does this indicate about scientific progress?

Discuss Franic Bacon’s saying that discovery is "a birth of time rather than of wit" as it applies to this case. How is "time ... the greatest innovator"?

References

Campbell, N. A. Biology. Menlo Park, California: The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc., 1996.

Magner, L. N. "Ernest Lyman Scott’s Work With Insulin: A Reappraisal", Pharmacy in History. 19 (3) (1977): 103-108.

Murray, I. "Paulesco and the Isolation of Insulin", Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. 26 (2) (1971): 150-157.

Shortt, S. E. D. "Banting, Insulin and the Question of Simultaneous Discovery", Queen’s Quarterly. 89 (2) (1982): 260-273.