AMPK: A Genetic Basis For Being A Couch Potato?
Monday, September 5, 2011 - 17:50
in Biology & Nature
Feel lazy? Maybe you can blame your genes.Specially-bred mice which had two genes removed, which control the protein AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an enzyme that is switched on when you exercise, didn't want to run a ny more."Mice love to run," said Gregory Steinberg, associate professor of medicine in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University. "While the normal mice could run for miles, those without the genes in their muscle could only run the same distance as down the hall and back. It was remarkable. The mice looked identical to their brothers or sisters but within seconds we knew which ones had the genes and which one didn't." read more