In 1984, Frances Ashcroft discovered a protein (a tiny pore called an ion channel) that acted as the link between blood-glucose levels and insulin secretion. As a result, people with a rare inherited form of diabetes can now relieve their symptoms simply by taking an existing drug in pill form, rather than by daily insulin injections. The drug has improved their blood glucose control and so reduced the risk of diabetic complications, such as blindness and kidney disease. She is now studying why 25% of patients with this disease also have neurological problems, and continues to explore what goes wrong with insulin secretion in type 2 diabetes, which affects 336 million people worldwide.