So far, the majority of GWA scans have been performed in populations of European descent [1], The first GWA studies in East Asians have recently identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a previously unreported gene, KCNQ1, which were associated with type 2 diabetes susceptibility [2], [3]. The gene discussed is KCNQ1; the disease is type 2 diabetes mellitus.