emma's scott
Aug 25, 2004, 11:27 am
This from the NY Times, of general interest to X-fans... A story about a heavily muscled breed of cattle, whose genes were deliberately enhanced to increase muscle growth... the item of interest to comics fans is the revelation that there may be at least two examples of this mutation occuring naturally in humans:
"....Belgian Blues are unlike any cows you've ever seen. They have a genetic mutation that means they do not have effective myostatin, a substance that curbs muscle growth. A result is that Belgian Blues are all bulging muscles without a spot of fat, like bovine caricatures of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
...."A small number of humans have natural genetic mutations that are similar, and these people appear to live normally and to be exceptional athletes. For example, Eero Mantyranta of Finland was a three-time gold medalist in cross-country skiing Olympics in the 1960's, and his family later turned out to have a genetic mutation that produced extremely high levels of red blood cells.
"Likewise, The New England Journal of Medicine in June documented a human version of the Belgian Blues, a boy with a genetic mutation that interferes with myostatin. From the moment he was born, he had extraordinary muscling, and at age 4 he can hold a 3-kilogram dumbbell in each hand with his arms extended. A European weight-lifting champion is said to have a similar mutation...."
from Building Better Bodies, NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF, NY TIMES, August 25, 2004
as one of those x fans who hates, loathes and despises the steroid look among characters (bring back "Slim" Summers... and why do the women all have the same breast size?), i'll be a little disappointed if this is the only positive mutation that shows up...:) i DO believe that muscle mass has its place for SOME characters, but the pernicious influence of artists who shall not be named has turned the look of some characters into a ridiculous parody, a Freudian nightmare. (don't get me started on Cable; boys' got issues, and i mean the artists, not the character)....
.... for what it's worth, i would be interested in others sharing legitimate news stories of science relevant to the comics and sf universe...
Michael
"....Belgian Blues are unlike any cows you've ever seen. They have a genetic mutation that means they do not have effective myostatin, a substance that curbs muscle growth. A result is that Belgian Blues are all bulging muscles without a spot of fat, like bovine caricatures of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
...."A small number of humans have natural genetic mutations that are similar, and these people appear to live normally and to be exceptional athletes. For example, Eero Mantyranta of Finland was a three-time gold medalist in cross-country skiing Olympics in the 1960's, and his family later turned out to have a genetic mutation that produced extremely high levels of red blood cells.
"Likewise, The New England Journal of Medicine in June documented a human version of the Belgian Blues, a boy with a genetic mutation that interferes with myostatin. From the moment he was born, he had extraordinary muscling, and at age 4 he can hold a 3-kilogram dumbbell in each hand with his arms extended. A European weight-lifting champion is said to have a similar mutation...."
from Building Better Bodies, NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF, NY TIMES, August 25, 2004
as one of those x fans who hates, loathes and despises the steroid look among characters (bring back "Slim" Summers... and why do the women all have the same breast size?), i'll be a little disappointed if this is the only positive mutation that shows up...:) i DO believe that muscle mass has its place for SOME characters, but the pernicious influence of artists who shall not be named has turned the look of some characters into a ridiculous parody, a Freudian nightmare. (don't get me started on Cable; boys' got issues, and i mean the artists, not the character)....
.... for what it's worth, i would be interested in others sharing legitimate news stories of science relevant to the comics and sf universe...
Michael