Skin bacteria can treat diabetes

Bacteria deep in the ground can take over the task of the pancreas and produce vital insulin for diabetics. Insulin pumps could be a thing of the past for people with diabetes 1 thanks to newly-invented staphylococcus bacteria that can live deeper in the skin than anticipated. The deep skin layer includes blood vessels, and so, the bacterium can be gene-spliced to register when the concentration of glucose in the blood is too high. As a reaction, a gene in the bacterium produces insulin, which enters directly into the blood stream, carrying sugar to the muscles and organs, where it is to be used.

The bacteria exist naturally deep in the skin, so they will not cause infections. Unlike an insulin pump or a pancreas transplant, the bacteria do not cause irritation, scars, or immune reactions.

Further experiments will determine how many bacteria are required to produce sufficient insulin.