Couch-Potato Gene Found In Mice

syousef writes "Good news for those of us who are prone to putting on weight sitting in front of a computer screen. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting on research which shows that changing a single gene in mice turns them from couch potatos into super-athlete mice that don't get fat and are able to run for hours. They believe this has the potential to lead to a pill to turn similar genes on in humans. From the article: '"It is a pill that, in part, mimics exercise. It mimics the metabolic activity associated with exercise," said Ronald Evans, of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, who led the study. Writing in the journal Public Library of Science Biology, Dr Evans and colleagues said they tweaked the PPAR-delta gene to stay in a permanently "on" position and then genetically engineered mice with it. They expected to see changes in metabolism but were surprised at how extensive they were.'"

Comments

A pill can't replace real exercise

[Anonymous Coward]

Just like winning $100,000 at the lottery can't replace working hard to get those $100,000.

Re:A pill can't replace real exercise

[PainKilleR-CE]

Just like winning $100,000 at the lottery can't replace working hard to get those $100,000

Yeah, but if I can get $100,000 for buying a $1 ticket instead of working a year or two, I'll take the lottery money and keep on working.

Similarly, if I can turn my metabolism up a few notches without the months of working out 7-20 hrs/week that it normally takes me to do so, I'll gladly take the pill and reduce my work-out schedule to simply that which I need to gain the muscle mass I want. At the same time, if their research is correct, it would be much easier to actually put in that time in the gym.

Re:Awesome!

[Anonymous Coward]

They wouldn't be potato chips because mice are made out of mice.

Re:Fear

[Wtcher]

Well, a being that's constantly spending energy would have to constantly restore its reserves of energy. That is, it would have to be scrounging around for food all the time, which could be dangerous to its health due to predators and other hazards. Also, you need to think about the environment in which the being would need to live - perhaps it is an environment that doesn't offer an abundance of food. At that time, staying still and conserving energy until it really does need replenish its energy stores (fat, etc) does make better sense.

Keep in mind I'm not a biologist or anything fancy like that.

No laziness no perl no progress

[mattr]

Obviously this is anti-evolutionary dehumanizing stuff. It is human to want to sit back and tell other people to do the work, this would mean you work your ass off forever. You burn more calories, and just work work work. Whereas laziness is a virtue for perl programmers (and maybe many other pursuits) that is, the point is not to do nothing but to use the minimum amount of time needed and just focus on the fun part.

I first thought maybe I should sign up for this gene thing but now I think it is scary. It is the kind of thing a future corporate suit collective could easily launch in a closed environment.. just making sure the managers don't get dosed. Presumably current outsourcing is based on a gradient in standard of living but when everyone is at the same standard then what? Will outsourcing contracts require genetic testing in the future? I'd rather have the switch to turn something like that on and off myself, or have no such gene at all and just hypnotize myself to clean the house and love it periodically. I think getting married probably would do that too.. not?