Among the panoply of obesity-related co-morbidities that are ameliorated by bariatric surgery, perhaps the most impressive and scientifically interesting is the rapid, dependable resolution of type 2 diabetes. Numerous studies, including a meta-analysis of 22,094 patients, confirm that 83% to 86% of patients with diabetes experience complete remission of their disease after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), subsequently manifesting normal blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c levels after discontinuation of all diabetes medications [1][2][3][4][5]. After biliopancreatic diversion (BPD), the remission rate is greater than 95% [1]. The relatively few patients whose diabetes does not completely resolve after these procedures have typically had their disease for many years [3], and the progressive β-cell failure characteristic of longstanding type 2 diabetes has presumably rendered these individuals' pathology irreversible.What mechanisms could mediate such a profound improvement in diabetes, which is traditionally considered a relentless, progressive disease? The answers to this question could yield insights leading to the discovery of novel diabetes medications. Undoubtedly, massive weight loss plays an important role, especially in consolidating the long-term antidiabetic effects. After bariatric surgery, many physiologic changes have been documented that should improve glucose homeostasis. These include increases in muscle insulin receptor density and adiponectin levels, as well as decreases in the intramuscular and intrahepatic content of total lipids and long-chain fatty acyl-CoA molecules (moieties that cause insulin resistance) [6][7][8]. As predicted from these changes, glucose transport in incubated muscle fibers, whole-body glucose disposal during euglycemic clamps, and insulin sensitivity as measured by minimal modeling all increase dramatically after RYGB-induced weight loss [6,8,9]. BPD improves insulin sensitivity even more than does RYGB [10]. These adaptations, however, have been recorded many months to years after surgery. Because they would be predicted to occur as a consequence of substantial weight loss achieved by any means, such changes do not distinguish the impact on diabetic parameters of bariatric surgery per se from secondary results of weight loss.The most dramatic observation in this arena is that certain bariatric operations cause complete remission of diabetes within days to weeks after surgery-long before substantial weight loss