The display type has been set to flat ribbon.
The display type has been set to line ribbon. Insulin The molecule that has been displayed is insulin. Insulin is a tiny protein. It moves quickly through the blood and is easily captured by receptors on cell surfaces, delivering its message. Our cells communicate using a molecular postal system: the blood is the postal service and hormones are the letters. Insulin is one of the most important hormones, carrying messages that describe the amount of sugar that is available from moment to moment in the blood. Insulin is made in the pancreas and added to the blood after meals when sugar levels are high. This signal then spreads throughout the body, to the liver, muscles and fat cells. Insulin tells these organs to take glucose out of the blood and store it, in the form of glycogen or fat. Diabetes Mellitus When insulin function is impaired, either by damage to the pancreas or by the rigors of aging, glucose levels in the blood rise dangerously, leading to diabetes mellitus. For people totally deficient in insulin, such as children that develop diabetes early in life, this can be acutely dangerous. High glucose levels lead to dehydration, as the body attempts to flush out the excess sugar in urine, and life-threatening changes in blood pH, as the body turns to other acidic molecules for delivery of energy. Diabetes mellitus has severe long- term effects as well. It is one of the major chronic diseases in the industrialized world. Lowered levels of insulin that may occur as we age allow elevated levels of sugar in the blood over extended periods of time. Sugar molecules attach to proteins throughout the body, compromising their function, and sugars derived from glucose build up, distorting and clogging cells.
The display type has been set to line ribbon.
Insulin The molecule that has been displayed is insulin. Insulin is a tiny protein. It moves quickly through the blood and is easily captured by receptors on cell surfaces, delivering its message. Our cells communicate using a molecular postal system: the blood is the postal service and hormones are the letters. Insulin is one of the most important hormones, carrying messages that describe the amount of sugar that is available from moment to moment in the blood. Insulin is made in the pancreas and added to the blood after meals when sugar levels are high. This signal then spreads throughout the body, to the liver, muscles and fat cells. Insulin tells these organs to take glucose out of the blood and store it, in the form of glycogen or fat. Diabetes Mellitus When insulin function is impaired, either by damage to the pancreas or by the rigors of aging, glucose levels in the blood rise dangerously, leading to diabetes mellitus. For people totally deficient in insulin, such as children that develop diabetes early in life, this can be acutely dangerous. High glucose levels lead to dehydration, as the body attempts to flush out the excess sugar in urine, and life-threatening changes in blood pH, as the body turns to other acidic molecules for delivery of energy. Diabetes mellitus has severe long- term effects as well. It is one of the major chronic diseases in the industrialized world. Lowered levels of insulin that may occur as we age allow elevated levels of sugar in the blood over extended periods of time. Sugar molecules attach to proteins throughout the body, compromising their function, and sugars derived from glucose build up, distorting and clogging cells.
The molecule that has been displayed is insulin. Insulin is a tiny protein. It moves quickly through the blood and is easily captured by receptors on cell surfaces, delivering its message. Our cells communicate using a molecular postal system: the blood is the postal service and hormones are the letters.
Insulin is one of the most important hormones, carrying messages that describe the amount of sugar that is available from moment to moment in the blood. Insulin is made in the pancreas and added to the blood after meals when sugar levels are high. This signal then spreads throughout the body, to the liver, muscles and fat cells. Insulin tells these organs to take glucose out of the blood and store it, in the form of glycogen or fat.
Diabetes Mellitus