Drugs mimic exercise benefits in mice

Affect gene for muscles, metabolism

Four years ago, Ronald M. Evans used genetic engineering to create super mice that ran twice as far as normal rodents.

By Kay Lazar

Globe Staff / August 1, 2008

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In a discovery that reads like a couch potato's fantasy, California researchers report that they have pinpointed two drugs that mimic many of the beneficial effects of exercise. The compounds increase fat-burning ability and dramatically boost endurance - tantalizing possibilities for athletes and even weekend warriors who one day might be able to short-cut workouts by popping a pill. (Full article: 965 words)