Research by geneticist Gerard Karsenty of Columbia University has revealed that our bones do much more than provide protection and support. A protein called osteocalcin—released as a hormone by the skeleton—has been linked to sugar levels, exercise, and male fertility. More recently, he has shown that osteocalcin triggers a “fight or flight” response to threat. This (new) hormone seems to be the most crucial to our survival.
Evolution is clever. It protected the most important organ (the brain) inside a hard skull. It protected the most important hormone (osteocalcin) inside bone.
keletons do a lot more than just give our bodies their shape. Karsenty showed that through osteocalcin, bones play a crucial role in:
1) Regulating blood sugar. Mice engineered to lack the hormone osteocalcin were essentially diabetic; they were less sensitive to insulin and produced less of it than wild-type mice. When he provided osteocalcin, their insulin sensitivity and blood sugar normalized.
2) In 2011, he discovered that bones play a crucial role in male reproduction… Read more…
