Gene clue to diabetes sufferers

Scientists have identified a gene that could explain why some people are more susceptible than others to diabetes.

The gene, found in tests on obese mice, controls a protein called tomosyn-2 which acts as a brake on insulin secretion from the pancreas, the researchers also discovered.

Insulin is made and released by beta cells in the pancreas and regulates blood sugars. Those with type 1 diabetes have too little insulin, while those with type 2 are insulin-resistant - both conditions potentially causing serious health problems if they are not treated.

Alan Attie, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who led the study, said: "It's too early for us to know how relevant this gene will be to human diabetes, but the concept of negative regulation is one of the most interesting things to come out of this study and that very likely applies to humans."

The researchers studied obese mice as it takes more insulin to lower glucose for an obese person than someone of a healthy weight...