Something
we have to look into is the actual word for witchcraft. We have seen the implications of seductions
and manipulations so we get the general idea of what witchcraft is, but in our
world today we may have softened the word so much that we are not aware of why
God finds it so offensive. In the Old
Testament we see that witchcraft was spoken of regarding one who practiced
divination or spells, while in the New Testament we see the added understanding
of medications or drugs that alter or change something. If we remember the Disney classic Snow White,
the evil witch had an evil lair and she poisoned an apple which would make Snow
White sleep. While that is certainly something that softens our view of
witchcraft; a children’s movie where the worst part is Snow White sleeps, there
may be more ominous tools of witchcraft used against us daily. Sometimes the schemes and plans are cloaked
and sometimes they are not.
Witchcraft:
OT:7080
qacam (kaw-sam'); a primitive root; properly, to distribute, i.e. determine by
lot or magical scroll; by implication, to divine: KJV - divine (-r, -ation),
prudent, soothsayer, use [divination].
OT:7081
qecem (keh'-sem); from OT:7080; a lot: also divination (including its fee),
oracle: KJV - (reward of) divination, divine sentence, witchcraft.(Biblesoft's
New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
OT:3784
kashaph (kaw-shaf'); a primitive root; properly, to whisper a spell, i.e. to
inchant or practise magic:KJV - sorcerer, (use) witch (-craft).
OT:3785
kesheph (keh'-shef); from OT:3784; magic: KJV - sorcery, witchcraft.
OT:3786
kashshaph (kash-shawf'); from OT:3784; a magician:KJV - sorcerer.(Biblesoft's
New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
Deut 18:10-12
There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter
to pass through the fire, or that useth divination [7081], or an
observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch[3784],11 Or a charmer, or
a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.12 For all
that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these
abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.KJV
There are
literal people who practice these types of things. We should be aware that they usually don’t
announce what they are doing to the world with media, they typically practice
these things in secret, learning from demons, and doing things to get demons to
do what they ask. The more a witch wants
a demon to do something, the more willing a witch is to sell himself to the work
of the devil. While the witches are
divining in the shadows the Christians are praying and worshiping in
public. There is one problem with that. Nothing prevents a witch from going to church
and knowing exactly what the church is praying for. One way witches will exploit Christians is to
get to know them and use their enchantments against the Christian. It does happen all the time.
Here is the
account of Saul looking for a “word” from someone who communicates with demons.
God didn’t answer him so he went looking for someone who could give him
answers.
1 Sam 28:6-19
And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by
dreams nor by Urim, nor by prophets.7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me
a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her.
And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar
spirit at Endor.8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he
went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I
pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I
shall name unto thee.9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what
Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the
wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to
cause me to die?
Firstly, she was
a woman who talked to evil spirits and was in hiding. Saul disguised himself because he didn’t want
it to be known he was going to a woman who should have been cut off or
killed. Somehow she escaped death but
Saul’s servants knew where she was.
1 Sam 28:10 And
Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no
punishment happen to thee for this thing.11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I
bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.12 And when the woman saw
Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why
hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
The woman was
spot on, she knew it was Saul but only when she was in a spiritual state.
1 Sam 28:13 And
the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said
unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.14 And he said unto her, What
form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a
mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to
the ground, and bowed himself.
Interestingly
Samuel did speak through this woman, but it caused her a lot of distress.
1 Sam 28:15 And
Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul
answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and
God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by
dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what
I shall do.16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the
Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?17 And the Lord hath done
to him, as he spake by me: for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine
hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David:18 Because thou obeyedst not
the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore
hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day.19 Moreover the Lord will also
deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and tomorrow shalt
thou and thy sons be with me: the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel
into the hand of the Philistines.KJV
That was not
what Saul wanted to hear. Saul knew that
God departed from him because of his disobedience, yet he still did something
he should not have done.
Another way
witchcraft is used in the Bible is in the usage of drugs. The New Testament seems to change the
direction from enchantments and spells to medications. It would seem today we have a lot of trouble
with drugs and alcohol as a numbing agent.
People who are miserable use drugs or alcohol to alleviate mental and
emotional pain. This is where we have to make some distinction. Physical ailments are not what we are
discussing here, so we should not be ready to condemn people who use medicines.
Our bodies are not perfect yet, and earth is not heaven, therefore we will have
to deal with the limitations of our physical body and do the best we can. But mental and emotional numbing is what we
have to guard against.
Witchcraft:
NT:5331
pharmakeia (far-mak-i'-ah); from NT:5332; medication ("pharmacy"),
i.e. (by extension) magic (literally or figuratively):KJV - sorcery,
witchcraft.
NT:5332
pharmakeus (far-mak-yoos'); from pharmakon (a drug, i.e. spell-giving potion);
a druggist ("pharmacist") or poisoner, i.e. (by extension) a
magician: KJV - sorcerer.
NT:5333
pharmakos (far-mak-os'); the same as NT:5332:KJV - sorcerer.(Biblesoft's New
Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
Gal
5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,20 Idolatry, witchcraft[5331],
hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,21 Envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you
before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God.KJV
Rev
21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers [5332], and idolaters, and all liars,
shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which
is the second deathKJV
Herein
lies the dilemma, do we call all medications and all pharmacists’ witches or witchcraft?
Or only the ones we don’t agree with? Today modern medicine helps with the
quality of human life. For example a diabetic person needs insulin. Years ago
insulin was made from cows and pigs, but today it is made from plants. Should people die young so as not to take
medications? Or should people use medications and live longer? I think when we
talk about breaking things down to the least common denominator we recognize a
line of distinction. A diabetic person
needs medication, an emotionally unstable person does not need crack. The basic question is can an individual’s
physical body live without a particular medication? We see that the angels that fell in the days
of Noah, also brought a knowledge of herbs and herbal remedies. Some of the women of those days used an herb
to keep them from getting pregnant.
Today we realize that the plant was probably high in estrogen and in
large doses does what we synthetically have today known as birth control pills
or patches.
Enoch VII:1.
And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each
chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile
themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the
cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. 2. And they became
pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: 3.
Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain
them, 4. the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. 5. And they began
to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one
another's flesh, and drink the blood. 6. Then the earth laid accusation against
the lawless ones.
Enoch VIII:1. And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields,
and breastplates, and made known to them the metals 〈of the earth〉 and the art of working them, and bracelets,
and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and
all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. 2. And there arose
much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways.
Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of
enchantments, Barâqîjâl, taught) astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Ezêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, 〈Araqiêl the signs of the earth,
Shamsiêl the signs of the sun〉, and Sariêl the course of the moon. And as men perished, they
cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .
We can see that
the angels that came down to earth and taught man how to use root cutting but
also antimony and tinctures.
Antimony is a
brittle metallic chemical element, a toxic crystalline element that occurs in
metallic and nonmetallic forms. Use: alloys, electronics. Encarta Dictionary.
Tincture is 1. Alcohol solution: a solution of a plant extract or chemical in
alcohol; tincture
of iodine. 2.tinge or color: a tint or slight coloration 4. Heraldic color: heraldry a color, metal, or fur used in heraldry
Encarta Dictionary
This was sophisticated
instruction. It is not unusual to see
these things being used before and after the flood.
Jasher 2:1And Lamech,
the son of Methusael, became related to Cainan by marriage, and he took his two
daughters for his wives, and Adah conceived and bare a son to Lamech, and she
called his name Jabal.2And she again conceived and bare a son, and called his
name Jubal; and Zillah, her sister, was barren in those days and had no
offspring.3For in those days the sons of men began to trespass against God, and
to transgress the commandments which he had commanded to Adam, to be fruitful
and multiply in the earth.4And some of the sons of men caused their wives to
drink a draught that would render them barren, in order that they might retain
their figures and whereby their beautiful appearance might not fade.5And when
the sons of men caused some of their wives to drink, Zillah drank with them.6
And the child-bearing women appeared abominable in the sight of their husbands
as widows, whilst their husbands lived, for to the barren ones only they were
attached.
It is
interesting to think back through women of the bible and wonder if many of
those women were drinking this tea to make them look beautiful, yet rendering
them barren. This was a cultural herbal
tea that many women used, yet they may not have known the full affects of this
tea on their bodies. Now we can see the
plan of the devil as far back as before the flood, to encourage man to kill
himself off and not reproduce. This
seems especially true for those who worshipped Elohim. Is there anything different
today?
Acts 16:16-19
And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a
spirit of divination [4436] met us, which brought her masters much gain
by soothsaying:17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men
are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of
salvation.18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and
said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of
her. And he came out the same hour.19 And when her masters saw that the hope of
their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the
marketplace unto the rulers, KJV
Divination NT:4436 Puthon (poo'-thone); from Putho (the name of
the region where Delphi, the seat of the famous oracle, was located); a Python,
i.e. (by analogy, with the supposed diviner there) inspiration
(soothsaying):KJV - divination.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and
Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006
Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
NT:4436 Puthoon,
Puthoonos, ho, Python 1. in Greek mythology the name of the Pythian serpent or
dragon 2. a spirit of divination: Acts 16:16
(from Thayer's Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003, 2006
by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Soothsaying NT:3132 manteuomai
(mant-yoo'-om-ahee); from a derivative of NT:3105 (meaning a prophet, as
supposed to rave through inspiration); to divine, i.e. utter spells (under
pretense of foretelling:KJV - by soothsaying.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive
Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary.
Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible
Translators, Inc.)
NT:3105 mainomai
(mah'-ee-nom-ahee); middle voice from a primary mao (to long for; through the
idea of insensate craving); to rave as a "maniac":KJV - be besideself
(mad).(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
NT:3132
manteuomai;to act as seer; deliver an oracle, prophesy, divine: Acts 16:16 (from Thayer's Greek Lexicon, Electronic
Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
What we learn
from this account is very informative. A
young servant girl who had a demon operating through her so that she would earn
her masters money by divining or casting spells saw Paul and company and
followed them around the city for several days. What she was doing was yelling,
or raving as if she was a maniac that
Paul and the people with him were servants of the Most High God and that they
show the way of salvation. What she was
saying was true, but the way she was saying it, probably in a mocking or
insulting way, was detracting from what Paul and the people with him were
doing. The woman did this, following
them around wherever they went. But Paul
was grieved, not only annoyed or insulted, but recognizing that what she was
doing was hindering the witnessing to the people; his heart was hurting for the
lost. She must have been causing quite a
scene, attracting the wrong kind of attention everywhere the Apostles
went. Paul turned to the spirit, not the
woman, not the people who were her masters, and not the people around
them. Paul talked to the spirit and
commanded it out. It had to leave because the power [dumanis] of the Holy
Spirit in Paul was greater and that demon had to leave. The rest of the story is great and worth the
read.
Here is what we
have to observe, there are some places on earth throughout history that seem to
be portals for demonic spiritual activity.
This is because people in these areas have been communing with demons
for years. This woman was in Philippi,
Delphi, where the demonic spirits have inspired many false prophetesses’. The spirit of python, which this young girl
had working in her, was the same demon spirit that supposedly guarded the
shrine where the gods could be petitioned.
The Oracle at Delphi chewed laurel leaves which produce a hallucinogenic
effect and then would go into a trance and prophecy. Also the possibility of
methane gas from the cracked cave could have also caused a drug induced state. Using
herbs to open her mind up spiritually is probably what this young servant girl
did. Using a hallucinogenic, she
probably raved like a mad woman, prophesying.
Again the demon spirit of python knew who Paul and his companions were,
and the demon spirit knew that they were servants of the Most High God. Paul was changing the spiritual atmosphere of
Philippi just by being there; the demons were threatened as people were getting
saved.
Sometimes drugs
are used to induce a person to be receptive to receiving demons. Sometimes people use drugs to relieve their
personal emotional or mental pain, which in turn can allow demons to infill a
person. Either way intentionally or
unintentionally, there are drugs that can allow demons to enter into people. This is where we must draw a line. Is the medicine we take allowing us to lose
control of our minds? This is one way
witchcraft can inhibit our lives to the end that demons can enter in. But we
live in a confusing time where people are being helped to live longer with
methods we have not seen before.
Nano
technologies, robotics, genetics, self replicating/mutating virus; we live in a
world that is rapidly moving into a hybrid age. It is hard to keep up with all
the new technologies. As we become more and more sophisticated in our
scientific endeavors the opportunity for twisting something for evil intent
gets closer. Yet advances in medicines
are helpful to our everyday lives. Simply, there is no good answer as to what
to do as we move into hybrid humanism.
On the one hand we need advances in technologies for our quality of
life, and there is no possibility of going backwards in time to the horse and
buggy days. On the other hand, humanity
is driven by the need to stay ahead of enemy nations so that militarily we
continue to be leaders, not overcome by opposing political nations. And ethically speaking as our world is
changing we have questions about what is right and how far trans-humanism should
go before we become an abomination to God, if at all.
Remember the Six
Million Dollar Man or the Bionic Woman?
How about Hollywood movie “I am Legend”?
While the Bible may not address these specific issues, we have to break
down into the least common denominators our questions about what is acceptable
and not acceptable to alter within ourselves.
This is where the Bible does speak about witchcraft. The question, in its most basic form is when
is it acceptable to use medications or altering surgical enhancements? While this question can only be answered by
each individual, as a matter of discussion between God and the individual, some
guidelines can help us not make blanket decisions for everyone. A paraplegic would benefit from surgical
enhancements to help facilitate proper and better breathing. A deaf person today benefits from cochlear
implants to facilitate hearing. The
dilemma is do we enhance humans with what may not be necessary like the Six
Million Dollar Man?
Witchcraft
which allows people to divine is due to demons working through a receptive
person. The key for us is not to become
an open vessel for demonic activity.
Also we need to be aware that there are people behind the scenes
inventing and developing things that could harm us. And yet we are not of this world, so our
bodies are frail. But one day we will have new bodies, like Jesus’ resurrected
body. One more aspect of witchcraft we
should look at is motivation by fear.
End Notes:
Pythia,
Delphi Oracle
MAGIC,
SORCERY, AND DIVINATION
Occult
practices, such as fortune-telling and witchcraft, which were common among the
pagan nations of the ancient world. But such attempts to control evil spirits
were expressly forbidden to the Hebrew people. Deut 18:10-11 mentions the
following specific occult practices which were forbidden by the law of Moses.
Passing
a Son or Daughter Through the Fire. This phrase refers to the practice of child
sacrifice. This seems incredible to us today, but the very fact that it was
outlawed by God indicates it must have been done in Bible times (Deut 18:10).
Second Kings 16:3 records that King Ahaz sacrificed his son in this way. No
doubt he thought that such a sacrifice would appease some pagan god. His
grandson, King Manasseh, sacrificed his sons two generations later (2 Kings
21:6; 2 Chron 33:6). Second Kings 23:10 reveals that it was mainly the pagan
god Molech who required this awful sacrifice. But other false gods apparently
also demanded it (2 Kings 17:31; Jer 19:5).
Witchcraft.
The practice of witchcraft, or divination, was a means for extracting
information or guidance from a pagan god. The word describes the activity of
Balaam the soothsayer, or professional prophet, who was hired to curse Israel
(Num 22:7; 23:23; Josh 13:22). It also describes the woman at En Dor who
brought up the spirit of Samuel. All the major prophets condemned divination
(Isa 44:25; Jer 27:9; 29:8; Ezek 13:9).
The
only places where information is given on the actual means people used in
divination is in Gen 44:5 and Ezek 21:21-23. In the case of Joseph's divining
cup, the diviner apparently interpreted the shape of a puddle of oil floating
on the water in the cup (Gen 44:5). Ezek 21 describes the king of Babylon as he
tried to decide which way to approach Jerusalem. It portrays him as throwing
down a handful of arrows, hoping that a certain one will point to a route which
he believes is the will of his god. It also records that "he consults the
images, he looks at the liver" (Ezek 21:21). Reading and interpreting the
livers of sacrificial animals was another form of determining the will of the
gods. All these forms of superstition, of course were forbidden among the
Hebrew people.
Soothsaying.
Soothsaying is a relatively rare word in the Bible which describes some form of
divination, the practitioner of which is also described by the KJV as
"observer of times" (Deut 18:10). Because it sounds like a Hebrew
word for cloud, some scholars believe it refers to cloud reading. This may have
been similar to tea leaf reading or astrology, which is a reading of the stars.
God forbids the practice (Deut 18:10,14; Lev 19:26). Wicked King Manasseh was
also guilty of this sin (2 Kings 21:6; 2 Chron 33:6). The prophets of the Old
Testament also condemned this occult practice (Isa 2:6; 57:3; Jer 27:9; Mic 5:12).
Interpreting
Omens. Behind this phrase, also rendered as enchantments (KJV), lie four
different Hebrew words. The most common of the four occurs in Gen 30:27, in
reference to Laban's "experience"; in Gen 44:5 and 15, referring to
Joseph's cup; and in Num 23:23 and 24:1, describing Balaam's activity. Lev
19:26 and Deut 18:10 specifically outlawed this practice as well. Another of
the words used for the practice seems to mean "whisper," and it may
indicate the way the enchanter lowered his voice. In Eccl 10:11 interpreting
omens is connected with snake charming
(from
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson
Publishers)
DIVINATION
Divination
is a "foretelling future events, or discovering things secret by the aid
of superior beings, or other than human means." It is used in Scripture of
false systems of ascertaining the divine will. It has been universal in all
ages, and all nations alike civilized and savage. Numerous forms of divination
are mentioned, such as divination by rods, Hos 4:12, divination by arrows, Ezek
21:21, divination by cups, Gen 44:5, consultation of teraphim, 1 Sam 15:23;
Ezek 21:21; Zech 10:2. [TERAPHIM]; divination by the liver, Ezek 21:21,
divination by dreams, Deut 13:2,3; Judg 7:13; Jer 23:32, consultation of
oracles. Isa 41:21-24; 44:7. Moses forbade every species of divination, because
a prying into the future clouds the mind with superstition, and because it
would have been an incentive to idolatry. But God supplied his people with
substitutes for divination which would have rended it superfluous, and left
them in no doubt as to his will in circumstances of danger, had they continued
faithful. It was only when they were unfaithful that the revelation was
withdrawn. 1 Sam 28:6; 2 Sam 2:1; 5:23, etc. Superstition not unfrequently goes
hand in hand with skepticism, and hence, amid the general infidelity prevalent
throughout the Roman empire at our Lord's coming, imposture was rampant. Hence
the lucrative trade of such men as Simon Magus, Acts 8:9. Bar-jesus, Acts 13:6,
the slave with the spirit of Python, Acts 16:16, the vagabond jews, exorcists,
Luke 11:19; Acts 19:13, and others, 2 Tim 3:13; Rev 19:20, etc., as well as the
notorious dealers in magical books at Ephesus. Acts 19:19.
(from
Smith's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database
Copyright © 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
How is insulin prepared?
Since the landmark discovery of insulin by Frederick Banting and Charles Best in 1922, huge steps have been made in research and development regarding its preparation. Early preparations of insulin were purified quite crudely from pancreas tissue extracted from animals - either pigs or cattle. Today, insulin is mostly made biosynthetically by recombinant DNA technology or 'genetic engineering'.
Animal insulin
Until the 1980s, all insulin was extracted from the pancreases of cattle and pigs. The sequence of amino acids (the building blocks that make up the protein) is slightly different in insulins from the different species. Compared to human insulin, porcine (pork) insulin has one different amino acid and bovine (beef) insulin three different amino acids. These very slight differences do not affect the way in which the insulin works inside the human body. Pork insulin is structurally closer to human insulin than is beef insulin. These days, animal insulins are made from highly purified pancreas extracts and are marketed as 'natural' insulins.
Human insulin
Human insulin is not prepared from human pancreas tissue. Rather than being extracted from human pancreases, commercially available human insulin is manufactured through recombinant DNA technology, in which the gene for making human insulin is transferred into simple cells such as bacteria or baker’s yeast. The insulin made by those cells is identical to insulin made by the human pancreas. Unlike animal insulins, recombinant DNA human insulins can be made in unlimited supply, since they do not depend on the supply of bovine and porcine pancreases.
Analogue insulin
Analogues are altered molecular versions of a natural substance (in this case insulin). They have been used in many therapies where hormone treatment is needed. The natural hormone is changed slightly, by rearranging the position of amino acids within the molecule (rather like changing the position of beads on a necklace). The insulin molecule is modified so as to give it a more desirable activity profile, thereby making it more convenient to use. These molecularly engineered hormones more closely mimic normal insulin secretion than do traditional insulins.
Since the landmark discovery of insulin by Frederick Banting and Charles Best in 1922, huge steps have been made in research and development regarding its preparation. Early preparations of insulin were purified quite crudely from pancreas tissue extracted from animals - either pigs or cattle. Today, insulin is mostly made biosynthetically by recombinant DNA technology or 'genetic engineering'.
Animal insulin
Until the 1980s, all insulin was extracted from the pancreases of cattle and pigs. The sequence of amino acids (the building blocks that make up the protein) is slightly different in insulins from the different species. Compared to human insulin, porcine (pork) insulin has one different amino acid and bovine (beef) insulin three different amino acids. These very slight differences do not affect the way in which the insulin works inside the human body. Pork insulin is structurally closer to human insulin than is beef insulin. These days, animal insulins are made from highly purified pancreas extracts and are marketed as 'natural' insulins.
Human insulin
Human insulin is not prepared from human pancreas tissue. Rather than being extracted from human pancreases, commercially available human insulin is manufactured through recombinant DNA technology, in which the gene for making human insulin is transferred into simple cells such as bacteria or baker’s yeast. The insulin made by those cells is identical to insulin made by the human pancreas. Unlike animal insulins, recombinant DNA human insulins can be made in unlimited supply, since they do not depend on the supply of bovine and porcine pancreases.
Analogue insulin
Analogues are altered molecular versions of a natural substance (in this case insulin). They have been used in many therapies where hormone treatment is needed. The natural hormone is changed slightly, by rearranging the position of amino acids within the molecule (rather like changing the position of beads on a necklace). The insulin molecule is modified so as to give it a more desirable activity profile, thereby making it more convenient to use. These molecularly engineered hormones more closely mimic normal insulin secretion than do traditional insulins.
