London: Scientists have discovered a link between diabetes and bacteria in the stomach, which they claim could pave the way for development of a pill to keep the disease at bay. In its study, an international team has found that the "friendly" bugs stop the onset of type I diabetes which often develops in childhood when the body's immune system destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. And, according to them, if a drug, food supplement or even pro-biotic yogurt could be produced to reproduce the bacteria, then it would help in preventing the condition in people deemed high risk, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported. "It (the study) is absolutely exciting. The onset of type 1 diabetes in genetic and very complex but we think it can be manipulated with these bacteria. "Our ultimate goal is to identify the type (or types) of friendly bacteria and find a substance that they make to help to stop type 1 diabetes development in high-risk people," said Dr Alexander Chervonsky of the University of Chicago. In fact, for their study, the scientists carried out experiments on mice with a pre-disposition for diabetes and those who had all bacteria removed from their bodies. Raised in a completely germ-free environment, 80 per cent of the mice developed severe type 1 diabetes. When they were given back a cocktail of the bacterial "flora" found in the mammalian gut, only a third of the animals became ill. The study, published in the latest edition of the 'Nature' journal', revealed that harmless bacteria can prevent type 1 diabetes even when there's a predisposition to disease. "This understanding may allow us to design ways to target the immune system through altering balance of friendly gut bacteria and protect against diabetes (even in humans)," team member Li Wen of Yale University said.