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Mutation Creates SuperKid

Posted by michael on from the at-least-he-still-needs-to-sleep dept.

Tzarius writes "It's not exactly regular Slashdot fare, but the NYTimes has a story about a kid in Berlin (now 4 years old) who was born with naturally massive muscles. It's not a new condition, but it apparently hasn't been recorded in humans before. It also looks like the cause is a suppression of the myostatin protein, which could be reproducible." Reader Spazmasta adds "A gene that blocks production of a muscle-limiting protein (called myostatin) has been found in a abnormally muscular German baby. This news comes apparently 7 years after researchers at Johns Hopkins created 'mighty mice' through a related approach, turning off the gene that produces the muscle-limiting protein. I, for one, welcome our new myostatin-free overlords."

21 of 747 comments (clear)

  1. It's destiny by foidulus · · Score: 5, Funny

    he was born to become the governor of California!

    1. Re:It's destiny by NimNar · · Score: 5, Funny

      OK, where's his twin? You know, the Danny DeVito baby.

    2. Re:It's destiny by BLAMM! · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's simpler than that. He was just lucky enough to roll a natural 18/00!

  2. Cute baby! by RLiegh · · Score: 5, Funny

    Can you get him to give me my car back?

  3. where are the pics? by Richthofen80 · · Score: 5, Funny

    i expect it to be a sitcom-esque situation, where the baby lifts the family car when it gets stuck in the mud.

    --
    Reason, free market capitalism, and individualism
  4. here's a picture of his asscrack! by squarefish · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm not kidding!

    --
    Creationists are a lot like zombies. Slow, but powerful and numerous. And they all want to eat our brains.
    1. Re:here's a picture of his asscrack! by greenhide · · Score: 5, Funny

      It is an unfortunate photo (it's a pretty gross photo actually, surprised it was the only one they could get their hands on).

      For those of you who are afraid to follow the link, in the photo the kid has very well defined leg muscles for a 6 day old baby.

      I myself make, uh, plenty of myostatin. In fact, that's my superpower -- making tons of myostatin to keep my body almost superhumanly unmuscled.

      --
      Karma: Chevy Kavalierma.
    2. Re:here's a picture of his asscrack! by GuyFawkes · · Score: 4, Funny

      err, that pic looks like it is of a female......

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      http://slashdot.org/~GuyFawkes/journal
    3. Re:here's a picture of his asscrack! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
      I wonder if the kids inherited one copy of that gene since they have a former NFL football player for an uncle.

      They've got an incredibly understanding father if they inherited any genes from their "uncle" ;)

  5. Somebody has to... by NaugaHunter · · Score: 5, Funny

    KHAAAAAN!!!!!

    --
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  6. dear god by insomnyuk · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ok, two things about this story are amazing.

    Firstly, that a 4 year old toddler can hold 3 kilo individual handheld weights, straight out.

    Secondly, that 'many adults' can't hold that much weight. My leatherbound volume of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy has to weigh AT LEAST that much. What the hell is wrong with people?

  7. Mutants by pete-classic · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, lets just hope Xavier gets to him first.

    -Peter

  8. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry... by FrostedWheat · · Score: 4, Funny

    Does he turn green when he's having a tantrum?

  9. my05t/\t1/\/ by bl8n8r · · Score: 5, Funny

    I am adding this to my spam filter now.

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  10. Baby's Father.. by cOdEgUru · · Score: 5, Funny

    From the article

    There was no information on the baby's father

    Second Coming of Christ! This time, he's kicking your ass!!

    --
    Rapid Nirvana
  11. Re:Someone.. by WormholeFiend · · Score: 4, Funny

    maybe later we can have him fight this other kid, Richard Sandrak...

    I dont think Richard is a genetic anomaly though... IIRC his parents are just martial arts and bodybuilding nuts.

  12. Re:PHOTO HERE by macdaddy357 · · Score: 4, Funny

    The little boy dresses in animal skins, wears a turtle shell hat, carries a club, and can constantly be heard saying, "Bam! Bam! Bam bam bam!".

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    How ya like dat?
  13. Cute maybe - but at 10 yrs old he'll turn green... by M1rth · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can just see his parents putting green makeup on him for Halloween some year after he sees The Hulk for the first time...

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    If you can read this sig, congratulations, you have your glasses on!
  14. Who's Your Daddy? by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Funny
    The little boy dresses in animal skins, wears a turtle shell hat, carries a club, and can constantly be heard saying, "Bam! Bam! Bam bam bam!".

    Barney and Betty's kid? How about a reality check. Consider the following from one of the articles:

    The child's mother was strong - she had been a professional sprinter in the 100-meter dash - and she came from a strong family. Her grandfather, a construction worker, had unloaded curbstones by hand, hefting stones weighing at least 330 pounds. (There was no information on the baby's father.)

    They probably couldn't get ahold of the father because he was doing the laundry, taking out the trash or washing dishes, if he knows what's good for him!

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  15. Evolution IS a beauty contest by hoggoth · · Score: 4, Funny

    > evolution was not a beauty contest. ("Chicks dig muscular guys! I want to be muscular too!") It was about tuning an animal to be able to at least survive its environment

    Hence the dazzling fan of the peacock, which the peacock uses to beat it's prey to death in a frightening, yet fashionable, display of evolutionary fitness.

    There are many examples of evolution in weird directions for better sexual selection. For example song birds, fireflies, and Bill Clinton's exaggerated male chin.

    --
    - For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)
  16. Well that's new (?) by phyruxus · · Score: 4, Funny
    Hmm. A 5 year old with hyper-developed musculature. This kind of puts a whole new twist (for me) on the Greek "myths" of Heracles/Hercules (You know, the really strong dude).

    Of course, I had the same thought about the "miraculous virgin birth" when I learned about parthenogenesis.

    --
    "A witty saying proves nothing." ~Voltaire
    "d'Oh!" ~Homer