Increased Sirt1 activity, provided by either a transgenic overexpression of Sirt1 gene in mice12 or through pharmacological activation by resveratrol, has been shown to have beneficial effects on type 2 diabetes in rodent models13, indicating that the protein SIRT1 (sirtuin 1) may represent an attractive therapeutic target. The gene discussed is SIRT1; the disease is type 2 diabetes mellitus.