Researchers in Lille and Paris demonstrated that mutations in the melatonin receptor gene (melatonin or the "hormone of darkness" induces sleep) lead to an almost sevenfold increase in the risk of developing diabetes. This research, which was published in Nature Genetics on 29 January 2012, could contributed to the development of new drugs for the treatment or prevention of this metabolic disease.

Glioblastomas grow extremely aggressively into healthy brain tissue and, moreover, are highly resistant to radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Therefore, they are regarded as the most malignant type of brain tumor. Currently available treatment methods are frequently not very effective against this type of cancer. Glioblastoma can affect people of all ages, but is less common in children than in adults.