Scientists have discovered a vital clue of how insulin works in human body bringing them closer to finding a cure for diabetes.

Freddy Yip, an Australian PhD student, has solved a problem of how insulin prompts fat and muscle cells to absorb glucose, a problem which has been plaguing researchers for more than half a century.

"While we're certainly not saying we've found a way to cure diabetes, we are saying we've found a pretty significant clue," David James, head of the Diabetes Programme at the Garvan Institute for Medical Research, was quoted in Herald Sun today.

Since the discovery of insulin by Banting and Best in 1920s scientists have been battling to discover how it actually works, said Professor James. "Then along comes Freddy Yip, doing his PhD, who unveils a completely novel action of insulin, one which we believe plays a fundamental role in glucose uptake," he added.

The new findings, published in the journal 'Cell Metabolism', focuses on two interesting problematic processes affecting diabetics-- insufficient production of insulin in the pancreas after a meal, insulin resistance and the faulty uptake and storage of glucose in fat and muscle cells, it said.

"In the cell we have series of motor proteins that have the ability to move other molecules from one place to another along intracellular railroad tracks," Yip said.

"I have discovered that insulin activates a specific kind of motor protein known as Myo1c, which in turn performs a critical role in glucose uptake" he said.

The motor protein helps move glucose transporter proteins from inside the cell to the surface membrane so that they can pump glucose into the cell. The findings offer up a new target for diabetes treatment. "We think there may be blockages in the signal between insulin and myo1c in people who develop insulin resistance," he said.

"If we're correct, it should be possible to target that pathway for development of new therapies."