Optimal membrane properties are essential for numerous cellular processes that are often defective in diabetics: vesicular trafficking (including insulin secretion by beta cells [43]), glucose transport [44], endocytosis [45, 46], regulation of metabolic rate [47], platelet aggregation [20], etc. Of special interest in the context of diabetes is the importance of membrane fluidity on the function of membrane proteins. The gene discussed is INS; the disease is diabetes mellitus.