Build a mouse that lacks NCOR in its muscle tissue and it can run twice a long as an ordinary mouse. See Researchers Engineer a Mightier Mouse in which Emily Singer explains that NCOR acts as a dimmer switch -- a corepressor that inhibits gene expression.
And from the abstract: "Collectively, our data suggest that NCoR1 plays an adaptive role in muscle physiology and that interference with NCoR1 action could be used to improve muscle function." It seems that removing the NCOR results in increased mitochondria which keeps the muscles going longer.
Engineering a marathon running mouse isn't really their objective, of course. But the discovery might help researchers develop drugs that could reduce old age muscle loss.
And what professional athlete wouldn't want a legal way to get stronger muscles? There goes the record book.
Another study might lead to a better treatment of type 2 Diabetes. People who suffer from that have built up a resistance to insulin. But the mice that didn't have the NCOR1 in fat tissue were more sensitive to insulin.
Finally, news from all of this for we can use, a one liner for do-it-your-selfers: "Fasting brings [NCOR] levels down, while glucose pushes it up." Which brings us right back where we started. We are what we eat.
Comments