How to Take Over the World!

Ok so maybe I don't check it every day....But the wifey checks it at least once a week.

So I have a short list here of things I am going to need to take over the world. Ready?

1. Large gobs of cash - Oh ya...cuz when they take my picture at the crowning ceremony my grill should read "bling bling bitches"

2. Nanobots - Eternal life and a boost to the IQ never hurt anyone

3. A cool looking hat - Just try picturing Abe Lincoln without a hat...see what I mean?

4. Hordes of people reading my blog - So I can sell advertising (see number 1)

5. An army - And not just any army will do. I want an army of Terminators who all sound like Arnold.

6. Children to rule empire in case I get assasinated - Check that one off...two kids should be enough.

7. An iPhone - Is it just me?

Well It's almost time to go. If anyone has some suggestions on my list let me know. (I'll guarantee you a seat on my supreme council with FULL dental if it's good enough)

Thursday, July 31, 2008

New Drugs Mimic Exercise
Compounds boost endurance and allow mice to run for substantially longer.

By Emily Singer

The elusive exercise pill just took a step closer to becoming a reality. Scientists have found that two compounds can boost endurance in mice by changing the metabolic properties of the animals' muscle. One of the drugs appears to mimic some of the benefits of exercise even in sedentary mice. But the most dramatic benefit comes from combining one of the drugs with exercise, enabling mice to run 60 to 75 percent longer.

In previous research, Ronald Evans and his colleagues from the Salk Institute, in La Jolla, CA, genetically engineered so-called marathon mice, animals with double the running endurance of their normal counterparts. The mice gained their superstamina with a boost in the expression of a gene called PPAR%u03B4. Evans's team has now found a way to trigger the same effect using drugs, a development that could potentially make the result applicable to humans.

In research published today in the journal Cell, the scientists tested two compounds that crank up the PPAR%u03B4 pathway, with slightly different effects. One drug, which acts upstream of PPAR%u03B4, enhances running endurance by 44 percent. "It's tricking the muscle into believing it's been exercised daily," said Evans in a statement released by the Salk Institute. "It proves you can have a pharmacological equivalent to exercise."

A drug that directly activates PPAR%u03B4 was even more effective, but only when combined with exercise. It had no effect on sedentary mice, but it allowed active mice to run 60 to 75 percent longer. The drugs work differently than anabolic steroids or other muscle-building drugs currently in development, which increase muscle mass but not endurance.

If the findings hold true in humans, the drugs could provide a new way to induce the health benefits of exercise, especially in people who find it difficult but are most in need, such as those who are obese or at high risk of diabetes. "Why don't people exercise when they know it's good for them? Because it's hard; you feel fatigued," says William Evans, director of the Nutrition, Metabolism, and Exercise Laboratory at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, in Little Rock. "Perhaps a product like this might help people who have a hard time initiating an exercise program." William Evans was not involved in the research.

Muscle is made up of two types of fibers: fast-twitch fibers, which generate power and speed, and slow-twitch or fatigue-resistant fibers, responsible for endurance. Endurance training triggers genetic changes that shift muscle metabolism toward the slow-twitch type of muscle, which burns fat. (Fast-twitch fibers burn carbohydrates.)