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The Discovery of Insulin

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted May, 2010

On the outside wall of the Medical Sciences Building, here at 1 King's College Circle at the University of Toronto, are the English and French versions of this Ontario Heritage Trust plaque describing Banting and Best's momentous discovery. Here's what it says:

Coordinates: 43.661298 -79.39368

In one of the most important advances in modern medicine, a team of investigators isolated and purified insulin in a building which stood on this site. On May 17, 1921, Frederick Banting, a young surgeon, and Charles Best, a recent graduate in physiology and biochemistry, began a series of experiments on pancreatic secretions in an attempt to find a treatment for "diabetes mellitus". Working under the general direction of J.J.R. Macleod, an expert in carbohydrate metabolism, they developed a promising anti-diabetic extract. James Collip, a noted biochemist, then increased the purity and potency of the substance. With the first successful clinical test of insulin on a human diabetic on January 23, 1922, Banting, Best, Macleod and Collip ensured prolonged lives for millions of diabetics throughout the world.

Related Toronto plaques
Sir Frederick Banting
John James Rickard Macleod

Related Ontario plaque
Banting House

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Medicine

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> Posted December 2, 2010
I was diabetic for more than 40 years. I owe my life to Banting and Best and their research.

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