I read an article called "Are Bacteria Foes of Diabetes?" in
Science Now Daily News at
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/923/4. This article says that researchers have found that it seems that exposure to bacteria may play a part in the development of diabetes.However, rather than causing the disease, it seems that the presence of certain types of bacteria in the pancreas (which makes insulin) actually prevents the disease from starting.
This article reminds me of an NPR science program that I listened to a few weeks ago. In this program, a researcher that was interviewed said that he estimates that 90% of the human body is made up of bacteria! He also said that these bacteria play a key role in regulating many functions of our body systems and in the prevention of diseases. Of course, yogurts with "active cultures" are promoted to improve digestive help, so it does make sense that bacteria would help to regulate other body systems too. I think that this is both absolutely fascinating and kind of hard to believe. How can our bodies be mostly bacteria? I want to know more about this!