It's common sense that Circadian rhythms manifest at the molecular level, given the obviously different metabolic functions while awake versus when asleep. Now, a group has shown that one of the body's "clock genes" helps regulate the production of new glucose in the liver. The findings could be applied to the discovery of novel treatments for type 2 diabetes and because the mechanism may also regulate signaling activities in other cell types, potentially alter the course of other diseases.

Because glucagon raises blood glucose in the liver, it's counter-intuitive to think of it as the basis for a strategy to treat obesity and its associated consequences, including adult onset diabetes. But a research team has shown that a single-molecule "co-agonist" of glucagon and GLP-1 normalizes glucose tolerance and reduces body fat and weight in preclinical models. This molecular-level polypharmacy is particularly appealing in metabolic disease, where single mechanisms tend to offer only modest therapeutic effects.

A discovery of the mechanism behind rare genetic condition sclerosteosis led to some new insights about bone growth. OsteoGeneX has now set out to discover small molecules that could inhibit the sclerostin pathway in a variety of potential applications including increasing bone growth in osteoporosis patients, spinal fusion and fracture repair.