Type 2 diabetes, also known as adult onset diabetes, is a metabolic disorder characterized by high blood glucose. Obesity is thought to be the primary cause of type 2 diabetes in people who are genetically predisposed. Thus, overweight people have increased levels of glucose circulating in their blood. The pancreas is an organ which produces hormones that control blood glucose levels. The hormones that control blood glucose are produced by clusters of cells in the pancreas called islets. Here glucose is shown arriving at the islets via the bloodstream. The glucose is taken up by cells in the islet called beta cells. The beta cells respond by producing the hormone insulin which lowers blood glucose. In type 2 diabetes, high levels of glucose stimulate the beta cells to produce lots of insulin to lower the blood glucose levels. The insulin is taken up by the blood vessels for transporting muscle, liver and fat, where it allows those tissues to absorb glucose. Unfortunately, sustained production of insulin also leads to secretion of large amounts of another hormone like substance by the beta cells. White blood cells which live in the islet respond to this hormone and consume it. We are now inside an islet to white blood cells at a magnification of 250,000 times. The hormone in combination with high glucose causes production of free radicals inside the white cell. The free radicals activate a centenile protein that originally evolved to protect us from microbial infection, causing it to unwind. The newly active centenile proteins then aggregate with six other proteins to form a ring. Then adapt proteins then bind to the ring. The adaptive proteins work to capture specialized inactive proteins from the surrounding cell fluid, bringing two halves together to form the active hole, which is then released. This entire structure is called the inflammatory and the inflammatory. The newly active proteins then convert yet another small signaling protein, splitting it into its active form. This protein is the key protein involved in inflammation in the body. The inflammatory protein is then secreted from the white blood cells into the islet. Unfortunately, this inflammatory protein causes death of the beta cells. After time, beta cell death causes the islets to shrink, accelerating disease progression. As the islets are now greatly reduced in size, they cannot produce enough insulin to control blood glucose levels. Over time, high blood glucose causes damage to many different tissues throughout the body. What originally evolved as a defense mechanism against infection now seems to be a driving force for inflammation in type 2 diabetes. Chronic diseases associated with inflammation are the most common diseases of aging in the Western world and represent our greatest health threats in the 21st century.