Researchers have developed two drugs that mimic some of the effects of exercise in mice, leading to rampant speculation that people may soon be able to take a dose of "exercise in a pill." The dramatic study showed that the drugs built fat-burning muscles in mice and increased their endurance on an exercise wheel.
Four years ago researchers bred genetically engineered mice that could run much further than normal, but this is the first test to prove that drugs can have the same effect [Telegraph].
"It’s tricking the muscle into ‘believing’ it’s been exercised daily," said the study's lead researcher, Ronald Evans.... "It’s basically the couch potato experiment, and it proves you can have a pharmacologic equivalent to exercise" [Wired News].
One drug proved effective for mice that were already exercising regularly, increasing their running time by 68 percent and distance by 70 percent. The other drug worked on mice ...
