A happy accident may hold the key to healing muscle diseases and granting humans incredible physiques. Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Washington discovered that stem cells injected into mouse muscles led to increased growth for the rest of the mouse’s life. Young mice with injured legs were given donor muscle stem cells from other young mice. Those injuries not only healed, but muscle mass increased 50% and muscle volume increased by an incredible 170%!
Performance tests show the muscles were twice as strong as normal, and still above average when you control for size. Two years later, about the lifetime of a mouse, the legs were still bigger and stronger than normal, much to the scientists surprise. The study was recently reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine. I had a chance to speak with Bradley Olwin at UC Boulder to discuss his work and the possible applications in the future. He thinks that the muscle growth effect, if it could be reproduced in humans, may be a means to treat degenerative illnesses like Muscular Dystrophy. I think that this is another step towards super powered humans.
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