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Diabetes: the basics

Explaining diabetes
So what exactly is diabetes? and what is insulin’s relationship to it?

Insulin as the 'key' being inserted into an imagined slot in a cell.

To find out how diabetes develops, the ways it affects the body and how insulin is the key to allowing glucose use by the cells of the body, watch this video ‘What is diabetes?’ (2min 22s) created by Diabetes UK.


There are links relating to general resources about diabetes available from ‘See also’ at the bottom of this page.

© University of Southampton
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Understanding Insulin

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