1. Would glucagon or glucocorticoids be as effective a therapy for hypoglycemia in the growth-retarded infant of a diabetic mother as in newborns who are large for gestational age? Explain the biochemical basis for your response.
2. What substance is an important circulating oxidative substrate in fetal life but uncommon postnatally? What common metabolic substrate of postneonatal life is relatively less important during fetal life? Can free fatty acids serve as a direct source of glucose (i.e., can fatty acids be converted into glucose)? Why or why not?