Mutation gives boy super-powers!

Okay, the real news in this New England Journal of Medicine report would be the advance in our understanding of the body and the potential to cure muscular dystrophy and a host of other diseases. But it’s hard to miss the sense that life is imitating comic-books.

He’s the first known human with this mutation. Not yet five years of age, he has twice the muscle mass of his fellows, and can hold seven-pound weights with his arms outstretched. So far, no health problems have resulted from his condition. He decided to use his powers to….. Uh, sorry. Read the story.

BBC provides sober reporting.

And we get the “Superboy” angle here.

6 replies on “Mutation gives boy super-powers!”

  1. Sometimes I think like the Bene Geserit
    We need to get that boy to hook up with someone from that Italian family that
    never gets heart attacks…

  2. Bodies like G(r)eek Gods
    After googling for myostatin, it looks like there have been other cases of this. It sounds like different specific mutations of this gene produce varying levels of inhibition; this kid is just an extreme case.

    Also, although the scientists are moving cautiously on this, the bodybuilding-supplement industry has already jumped on the bandwagon (as usual). There’s already a “natural” product (their quotes) on the market that claims to block myostatin. As always, I take their claims with several pounds of salt :)

    Obviously I’ll wait for the real scientists’ findings, but a drug for this could be a real lifesaver for the modern geek^H^H^H^H white collar worker. Basically it causes your body to spend all its extra resources building & fueling muscle, instead of growing fat cells and dealing with hyperglycemia. We’d all be in great shape; that is, until the inevitable post-apocalyptic famine hit ;)

    • Re: Bodies like G(r)eek Gods

      Yeah, “only known case” comes from the Associated Press article. More reliable than the body-building-supplement industry, to be sure, but I think we’ve all learned to take mainstream reporting on matters scientific with a pound of salt.

      As for Y2’s Bene Geserit comment, suggesting we ally German and Italian forces and create supermen suggests a certain other sinister organization…. ; )

      • Re: Bodies like G(r)eek Gods

        As for Y2’s Bene Geserit comment, suggesting we ally German and
        Italian forces and create supermen suggests a certain other sinister
        organization…. ; )

        I, for one, wellcome our new ubermensch overlords and would like to remind
        them that my oddly square thumbs look really good when saluting. ;-)

    • Re: Bodies like G(r)eek Gods

      From this NYT article, “The question is, What will happen when he grows older? … will his satellite cells be used up so that his muscles start to deflate when he is 30 or so?”

      Seems there’s some concern that unrestricting the muscles might let them “burn up” faster. Damn! There’s always a catch.

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