Myostatin is a
growth factor that prevents
muscles from growing too large. It regulates muscle size from early
development onwards. Therefore if myostatin is absent, muscles are able to grow much larger.
Two specific
breeds of
cattle have been bred to reap the benefits of its absence:
Belgian Blue and
Piedmontese.
Selective breeding was used with the more muscled cows, to produce larger
offspring.
Mice have also been
genetically modified to grow larger muscles, which has led to speculation on the
feasibility of myostatin
inhibitors for humans. The affected mice were on
average 30% heavier than normal mice, and their muscles thee to four times larger.
A
German boy is known to have a mutation which blocks
production of myostatin. At almost age five, he has muscles twice the size of his peers.
No doubt this could be very useful for
military applications, among others.
Now we need to find one for
brain development, and get governments to give newborns these drugs depending on their
vocation.