This is the 100-year anniversary of the discovery of how insulin can be used to treat people with diabetes. In 1921, a surgeon named Frederick Banting and his assistant Charles Best figured out that removing insulin from a healthy dog’s pancreas and giving it to a dog with diabetes extended his life. Later, they did the same thing with cattle, giving their insulin to people with diabetes.

Tanya Munger, a nurse practitioner for OSF HealthCare says the ways people can administer their insulin has made substantial progress over the years.

Munger is encouraged about the future thanks to the research and clinical trials that are taking place around the world that could lead to more promising advances in diabetes care. More than 34 million people in the U.S. - or about 11% of the population - have diabetes, and about 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed every year, according to the American Diabetes Association.