Used for explosives, it's now a possible weight-loss miracle and diabetes cure

Women used it during the Jazz Age to lose weight -- until a few "baked" themselves to death. Before that, the army used it during World War I to blow things up.

It's mitochondrial protonphore 2, 4-dinitrophenol (DNP). Mixed with piric acid, it makes a fearsome explosive. World War I munitions-factory workers who handled DNP developed high temperatures and quickly lost weight.

According to Oregonlive.com, Nearly 100 years later, Yale University researchers have figured out how to put DNP to a good cause: reversing type 2 diabetes.

The trick, so far tested only on rats, is rather straightforward: water down DNP more than 100-fold below the toxic levels used in bygone days. Gerald I. Shulman, associate director of the Yale Diabetes Endocrine Research Center and the lead author of the study, says this low-dose DNP "reduces blood glucose, triglyceride and insulin concentrations" and burns away fat. The study reported no side effects.

The results are promising, but more research needs to be done. There have not yet been any human trials. Offered Richard Elliott, the communications manager of Diabetes UK: "Caution is required when considering these results, because DNP in its original form can be extremely dangerous to health and is not suitable for human use."

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