Saturday, April 30, 2005

FDA approves diabetes drug made from...LIZARD SPIT?!?!?

It's true - The Food and Drug Administration approved the new drug Byetta on Friday. Derived from the saliva of the Gila Monster and known chemically as exenatide, it's the first drug in a new class of medications for Type 2 diabetes. Currently it would be used along with older diabetes medications, not on it's own. Byetta would be injected twice a day, and is an "incretin mimetic," meaning it mimics the action of the hormone GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide 1) that's secreted by the gut to begin insulin production after a meal - but only when blood sugar is high. The drug is a synthetic version of a protein found in the saliva of the Gila monster that works similarly to the human GLP-1. Adding Byetta triggered about a 1 percent drop in patients' HbA1C levels in the studies run by the manufacturer, which FDA metabolic drugs chief Dr. David Orloff stated is "consistent with blood-sugar lowering caused by other diabetes drugs."
Always good to hear of advances in the field of diabetes, since I am a diabetic - right now I've got good control of my sugar and my HbA1C results on my last test were good, but it's nice to know that another helpful drug will be available if I need it down the road. Although I certainly don't look forward to injections twice a day!

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy : Mostly Harmless

That's a comment in this review of the film version of Douglas Adams book/BBC Radio series/TV show The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The review also states "The film version of (Hitchhiker's) is faithful to author Douglas Adams' legacy. The trouble is it’s simply not especially funny." I'll let you know what I think after I see it - I'll be seeing the movie tomorrow.

Friday, April 29, 2005

Serenity movie trailer!

Almost forgot this one - if you loved Joss Whedon's TV show Firefly, then you've going to think this is just as cool as I do - the trailer for the big screen version of Firefly (the movie is called Serenity) is out (watch it here), and it looks outstanding! Another cool movie to look forward to - it'll be out in theatres September 30th.

Proof that I have the BEST wife ever

And it's true - I do have the BEST wife ever, and even though there are many reasons why it's true, I'll point out the most recent one - last night she got me a Sony PSP. I've wanted one ever since it was first just a rumor, and was pretty bummed that I couldn't get one once it was available here in the US. But now I've got it - and I can try out all the cool PSP hacks out there now! See, what did I tell you - she's the best!

New trailer for Batman Begins

Or as I like to call it, Batman Begins...Not to suck again! You can watch the new trailer here - it's really cool!! I just can't wait till June 15th, I really think director Christopher Nolan is on the right track to make a movie that satisfies fans and redeems the Batman franchise. I, for one, am really excited - I can't wait to see it!

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

First picture from Superman Returns

Click here to see the picture of Brandon Routh in costume (site's kinda slow, may take a bit to load) and you can click this link to read a USA Today article about the movie. Not sure about that costume, it looks a little odd to me - like it's digitally rendered. We'll see what it looks like in the actual film (slated to open in June 2006).