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Site of Resistance, Sweet Pumpkin Stimulation, Geodesy Nice And Easy, Tasty Nuts For Tits, Discussing Cosmic Rays, TWIS Bytes, Interview w/ Dr. James L. Gould, author of Animal Architects, And Nominate Us for Podcast Awards!
I'm the host of this little science show. 
Replying to the pumpkin stimulation of cells in the pancreas:
Here’s the latest in research as to the cause of type 1 diabetes:
There are two types of insulin-dependant diabetes: folk with an autoimmune disorder against the islet (insulin-producing) cells in the pancreas, and folk who, for some reason, don’t produce insulin. I cannot quote a percentage, but the majority of type-1 diabetic folk are ‘Type 1 b’, who simply do not produce enough insulin.
The breakthrough in this mystery is that it’s not an immune disorder, but of damaged nerve cells – the nerves connected to the pancreas fail to send the brain’s ‘make insulin!’ signals to the pancreas!
The theory is that after a period of stress, where the pancreas is told to produce less insulin to preserve energy, the nerves fail to respond to the signals that tell them to start up again.
This is in contrast to the common path taken in diabetes research, of the idea that the body lacks the ability at all to produce insulin. Most who run around with syringes and bottles of insulin actually make their own – just not in high enough quantities to meet their needs.
Cool!
(Jeanette Hansen, type 1 diabetic for a decade now :3 )
source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10812-breakthrough-sheds-light-on-cause-of-diabetes.html