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New 'Mighty Mouse' Formula Found

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the beefy-rodent-overlord dept.

mystyc writes to tell us that scientists at Johns Hopkins have improved upon their original "mighty mice" discovery. Teamed with the biotech firm MetaMorphix and pharmaceutical company Wyeth, they have found a new agent that interacts with the muscle-limiting protein myostatin that was able to trigger a 60% increase in muscle size after just two weekly injections.

10 of 200 comments (clear)

  1. What happened to the heart? by BerntB · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Increased heart size is dangerous, right? This increase all muscles, so...

    What are the effects on the heart?

    --
    Karma: Excellent (My Karma? I wish...:-( )
  2. Re:I, for one... by jzeejunk · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Talking of developing it for humans, a similar story was reported earlier on slashdot - http://science.slashdot.org/science/04/06/24/12342 50.shtml?tid=134&tid=191
    It is a very good case to study effects of no myostatin on humans.

    --
    sarchasm
  3. Gotta hate that crappy mouse. by Aqua+OS+X · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I wish they would come up with a formula for fixing that POS right click ( which occasionally reads as a left click...errhh), and those lame squeeze buttons that defy ergonomics.

    One of the worse mice I've EVER used... second only to the Apple hockey puck.

    --
    "Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
    1. Re:Gotta hate that crappy mouse. by Trillan · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I used one for a few weeks. At first, I had a lot of problems with left vs. right click. I eventually found out it depended on how I held it. I tried to use it as a two finger mouse, I ran into this problem. If I used it as a one or three finger mouse, I never had any problem.

      In the end, the only thing I REALLY liked about it -- the scroll nub -- stopped working properly so back it went.

      The squeeze buttons were incredibly lame. I bet the mighty mice wouldn't be able to do that click at all.

  4. normal people by rayde · · Score: 5, Interesting
    so my question is this... if something like this is proven to be safe in humans, allowing large increases in muscle growth, will it ever be available to the public? if not... why not?

    Steroids have long been banned in sports because they can have catastrauphic side-effects, and pro atheletes are often seen as role models. however, if a product came out that could dramatically strengthen humans, without nasty side-effects, for what reason shouldn't the average person be able to go out and in two weeks have significantly larger muscles? should it be regulated? and if so, why?

    there are ethical implications here... the haves vs. the have-nots... those who can afford to increase their muscle mass using the products would perhaps become a superior segment of the human race. imagine a scenario where western countries and their super-citizens gain a distinct physical advantage over the less wealthy countries.

    yet think of the productivity gains that would be possible in manufacturing, construction, or other physically intensive occupations. strengthening your workers could bring huge advantages.

    it's a very interesting issue, i'm sure one that we'll see popping up again in the future.

    1. Re:normal people by TheTerrorized · · Score: 3, Interesting

      AFAIK, the FDA does not approve drugs that improve regular people, just drugs that can fix problems already there. Many college students take ritalin to allow them to focus with low side-effects but they still cannot get it without a prescription.

  5. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  6. I know it's funny... by Cherita+Chen · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I know the title of this article is kind of funny, and there are a lot of funny posts on this thread, however; if you are interested in learning a little more about this, and wish to see a different perspective on the issue (such as practical appliactions, etc...) Check out the following link.

    http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6065

    Seeing that the source for the main article is currently ./'d, you should have time to have a gander :-)

    --
    I'm not fat, just big boned...
  7. Note For Humans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The effects are naturally occuring - albeit in a very small population of humans. Usually we suppress muscle growth - probably because too much is hard on the circulatory system. Not only that, but you only need so much muscle to hunt and all that jazz to stay alive. When we were evolving, we probably got this gene so we didn't overproduce muscle and raise our energy costs.

    You may recall the german superbaby who was born with two defective copies of the inhibiting gene - he has twice the muscle mass and half the body fat of other kids his age - link:

    http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20040626-060 429-4116r.htm

  8. Seriously by Chris+Johnson · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I have a friend with two children doomed to die of muscular dystrophy, so I have to wonder if this might be a relevant breakthrough in that area...