The diabetes-pancreas link

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Who

Oskar Minkowski, a physiologist of Jewish descent, working with Joseph von Mering.

When

1889

Where

Strasbourg (then Germany)

In 1889 Oskar Minkowski and Joseph von Mering showed that removing a dog's pancreas caused diabetes, proving for the first time that the organ controls blood sugar. Minkowski, who came from a Jewish family, thereby opened the path that led decades later to the discovery of insulin.

Sources

Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.