Since the discovery of insulin, alleviation of the burden of insulin therapy has been a constant worry. In The Lancet today, Roman Hovorka and colleagues 1 report a milestone in the quest for an artificial pancreatic β cell that started almost 50 years ago. Restoration of missing β-cell function by an automated, glucose-modulated, insulin-delivery system was initially supported by reports of glucose swings in patients treated with insulin injections, resulting in extreme cases of so-called brittle d ...