the pancreas is dead, long live the pancreas
i’m reading through the latest stem cell papers and i’m starting to realize that we’re not just getting better at fixing broken organs. we’re getting better at breaking down the idea of an organ at all. the pancreatic islet cell mapping study came out last week, and it’s fascinating. they’ve identified the three main endocrine cell types—insulin-producing beta cells, glucagon-producing alpha cells, and somatostatin-producing delta cells. it’s like the pancreas is just a collection of neighborhoods, each with its own job.