DRI BioHub -- Bub

Perhaps there are a few readers who are not regular followers of the diabetes online community. Or who spent yesterday in a cave. So first, a bit of background:

The Diabetes Research Institute released a video around midnight describing a new therapy they are working on called the 'biohub.'  Take a look if you haven't done so yet:




The official announcement was preceded by DRI announcing it would soon have a big announcement.  This buzz was picked up by an evening news broadcast in Boca Raton and a few medical interest websites.  A familiar figure in the diabetes online community, who also works for DRI, pre-announced the announcement with great enthusiasm.

There are those who, upon viewing the video, felt disappointed.  It did not, for them, live up to the hype.  For others, it felt more like a fundraising gimmick than an announcement of scientific advancement.  Most cringed at the overused 'five to seven years' time frame.  If eye rolls were audible, the sound from the diabetes community would have been deafening.

Maybe it's because I'm not terribly excitable.  Or because I'm a 'hope for the best but expect the worst' kind of person.  But I was not disappointed.  I think this is good and interesting news.  Maybe in 5-7 years, I'll be able to schedule a procedure for my daughter's biohub implant.   More likely, this research will spur more research by DRI and other competing researchers which will ultimately bring us to a cure.  Either way, in my eyes, it's a step forward which can only beget another step, keeping the research momentum going.

We live in a world of constant information.  Five to seven years ago, we would have discovered this research development as a small press release in the newspaper or perhaps in our weekly perusal of the Children With Diabetes e-mail blast.  Now my local pub, my favorite t.v. show, my family and friends, and every diabetes organization that exists are vying for my attention 24/7.  They're posting on facebook, tweeting, e-mailing, calling and texting me ALL THE TIME.  If one of them wants attention, they need to be dramatic.  Sometimes it will work, and sometimes it'll lead to disappointment.  The 'rare and extra dark porter' being offered only this weekend could be fabulous or could turn out to be awful.  The friend who posts, 'very excited!!!!' may later announce a pregnancy, or disappointingly, a new sofa.  Yet, 'come for beer tonight, ' or 'got a new couch' won't get my attention at all.

I can see how people would be disappointed by this if the buzz led them to believe a cure was around the corner.  Buzz or no buzz, though, it's pretty interesting and a step in the right direction.