Comments on: "Double Muscle" Mutants

"Double Muscle" Mutants

p3t3 — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:02:41 -0800

Myostatin is a genetic protein that affects muscle growth in humans and animals. Scientists have learned a lot about this protein from a noticeable myostatin mutation common in the Whippet dog breed. Whippets with one mutant copy of the gene are faster, so these are desirable for racing dog breeders. But selective breeding has caused increased instances of both copies of the myostatin genes mutating, which results in "double muscle" Incredible Hulk dogs!?

By: Ricky_gr10

Ricky_gr10 — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:10:49 -0800

That dog is diesel.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:13:43 -0800

Really, if you think about it, pretty sad. They've bred a dog that has problems, and a shortened life....

By: chillmost

chillmost — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:13:58 -0800

Mark my words, some day the dogs are going to take over. Then we'll all be in deep shit.

By: jamaro

jamaro — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:21:02 -0800

Hulk cattle, sheep and meeses**, too. *scroll down for a pic of the most muscular cow butt you'll ever see in your life. **After I read that article a while back, I had a fever dream about one of these Arnold mice kicking my cat's ass and coming after me with a mousetrap. No more G&Ts after dinner.

By: gaspode

gaspode — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:23:57 -0800

The same gene is mutated in Belgian Blue cows, giving the "double muscled" phenotype. I got to see some of these cows in New Zealand (when you're an endocrinologist in a farming country it's all about making more beef, more wool, more milk). ("genetic protein"? Yeah, proteins are coded by genes; it's kind of a redundant phase)

By: gaspode

gaspode — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:24:27 -0800

damn you, jamaro!

By: god hates math

god hates math — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:26:17 -0800

That Whippet could kick my ass. But it's still so cute!@

By: borborygmi

borborygmi — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:45:50 -0800

Three years ago, the first confirmed myostatin-deficient human (NEJM, subscrip req'd) was discussed on metafilter. Some pics from the NEJM article appeared online, and that kid had some huge muscles, even for a toddler. Now he's eight.

By: Potsy

Potsy — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:45:50 -0800

Whatever company first develops a myostatin blocker* will make a fortune. It will truly be a bodybuilder-in-a-bottle scenario. *There are a lot of scam products out there already which claim to do this, but none of them actually work.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:48:24 -0800

Supposedly, there is a myostatin deficient adult as well.

By: Defenestrator

Defenestrator — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:14:43 -0800

Not sure if this is the same toddler as the one mentioned above. I don't think it is, this one lives in Michigan. "For Liam, the condition has one potential drawback: Infants and toddlers need some body fat to feed brain growth and the development of the central nervous system." Clearly this kind of thing has unexpected consequences.

By: Cool Papa Bell

Cool Papa Bell — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:44:21 -0800

Whatever company first develops a myostatin blocker will make a fortune. It will truly be a bodybuilder-in-a-bottle scenario. Ain't gonna happen (although I'm sure there will be supplements advertised as such, as you say). There are more drawbacks than pluses here, starting with an enlarged heart ... which is also a muscle. ;-)

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 22:18:58 -0800

While her head, heart, lungs and legs are the size of those of a normal whippet, her gene defect means she is "double muscled". The heart muscle is smooth muscle tissue, and I'd guess from the above quote (from the hulk dog link) is not affected by myostatin deficiency.

By: John of Michigan

John of Michigan — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:04:22 -0800

He's buff. You know all the bitches want him.

By: John of Michigan

John of Michigan — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:09:10 -0800

Goddamn it. See, this is what happens when you carry a gene that makes you think that posting on MetaFilter is a GREAT idea after a night of drinking. You see, the whippet in question is, in fact, a bitch. Thus, I can't imagine a pack of whippet bitches wanting this particular bitch. Please kindly disregard my previous comment about the bitches.

By: Kid Charlemagne

Kid Charlemagne — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:43:42 -0800

Whatever company first develops a myostatin blocker will make a fortune..... Welcome to the wonderful world of my refrigerator! That being said, biologics tend to be more difficult to produce and have lower yields, so they tend to be really pricey. Track down the prices of some other therapeutic antibodies. You're gonna have to REALLY want to bulk up. I'm guessing that this will be a more profitable compound, but I naively believe that people will spend more money on not having heart disease than they will on having big pecs. (The preceding assumes that the compounds in question make it through clinical testing and appear safe and effective enough to recieve agency approval. I also want a pony.)

By: salishsea

salishsea — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 00:22:15 -0800

Sadly, her mixed-up genes mean she may have a shorter life expectancy than most breeds. ...yeah because someone is going to shoot this dog on sight out of pure fear. Holy crap. Imagine a pit bull this ripped.

By: [expletive deleted]

[expletive deleted] — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 01:04:23 -0800

Ain't gonna happen (although I'm sure there will be supplements advertised as such, as you say). There are more drawbacks than pluses here, starting with an enlarged heart ... which is also a muscle. ;-) The heart muscle is smooth muscle tissue, and I'd guess from the above quote (from the hulk dog link) is not affected by myostatin deficiency. Myostatin only affects skeletal muscle. There are no known serious complications of a deficiency, and certainly no cardiac problems. Read the articles, especially the one about the Michigan boy. That doctor does not seem at all worried about the boy's health. BTW, the American boy is a little different in that he doesn't lack a proper myostatin gene, rather his cells don't respond to it. His condition may also be autosomal dominant, since the article mentions that his father is also unusually strong, but his mother isn't mentioned as having that trait.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 01:41:37 -0800

It's okay John, the "lipstick" whippets are all over her.

By: pax digita

pax digita — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 05:21:06 -0800

Imagine a pit bull this ripped. Okay. Now imagine a black market in myostatin-deficient pit bulls. Now imagine drug dealers and assorted thugs willing to shell out mad $$$$ to have them. And finally imagine local police departments adopting a "shoot on sight" policy out of naked fear.

By: doctorschlock

doctorschlock — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 09:07:20 -0800

That dog, will walk you.

By: quin

quin — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 11:39:44 -0800

Assuming this doesn't actually shorten the animal's life or cause them any discomfort, I would love to see other animals with this mutation. Can you imagine a horse? Or a rhino? I'd like to see some poacher go after an elephant with this condition. It would be like something out of a horror movie.

By: maus

maus — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 05:43:47 -0800

Okay. Now imagine a black market in myostatin-deficient pit bulls. Now imagine drug dealers and assorted thugs willing to shell out mad $$$$ to have them. And finally imagine local police departments adopting a "shoot on sight" policy out of naked fear. That's an incredibly American train of thought, and as a fellow USA-dweller, it makes sense.

By: jamaro

jamaro — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 08:52:09 -0800

More pictures.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 18:58:17 -0800

Maus, that's not just an American train of thought, but the French may wind up creating myostatin-deficient monkeys instead.

By: Cool Papa Bell

Cool Papa Bell — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:25:37 -0800

WTF is an "American train of thought?"

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:41:45 -0800

I just echoed Maus, but I presume he means the application of a new discovery to violence and mayhem.