While maternal taurine supplementation in the late pregnant rat stimulated postnatal growth and induced obesity and insulin resistance in adult offspring(12), taurine supplementation of recently weaned mice fed a high-fat diet attenuated obesity and improved glucose homeostasis as well as a reduction in the hypothalamic content of phosphorylated insulin receptor substrate 1, a critical component of insulin-signalling pathways; this mechanism was believed to be linked to the prevention of overfeeding, glucose intolerance and obesity(13). The gene discussed is INS; the disease is obesity due to melanocortin 4 receptor deficiency.