Frederick Banting was born the son of a farmer. He became a doctor and studied diabetes, a fatal disease. He and his colleague Charles Best discovered a hormone, called insulin, that helped people suffering from diabetes live a normal life. Banting studied medicine at the U. of Toronto. He obtained his medical degree in 1916 and served for the remainder of WW I as a medical officer overseas. He was awarded the Military Cross for heroism under fire. Banting later became interested in diabetes mellitus, a disease which at that time meant a slow but certain death. Its chief biochemical symptom is the presence of abnormally high glucose levels in the blood, and the appearance of glucose in the urine. It had already been proposed that a hormone produced by small patches of cells called the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas gland might prevent diabetes. The research of Banting and his colleague Best resulted in a way to isolate the hormone, called insulin, and extract it for the use of those suffering from diabetes. The experiments were completed in 1922, and in 1923 Banting was awarded the Nobel Prize. Outraged that his co-worker had not also been awarded the prize, he gave half his share to Best. The Banting Research Foundation was established by Canadian Parliament that same year. With the coming of WW II, Banting was again involved with medical war work and died in a plane crash over Newfoundland.
Sources: Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science & Technology; Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame
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