Metabolic supermice

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Metabolic supermice are the creation of a team of American scientists lead by Richard Hanson, professor of biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University at Cleveland, Ohio.^[1]^[2]

The aim of the research was to gain a greater understanding of the PEPCK-C enzyme, which is present mainly in the liver and kidneys. As a result of a genetic modification, the mice have up to 100 times the concentration of the enzyme in its muscles compared with ordinary mice.

Professor Hanson noted that the supermice "are metabolically similar to Lance Armstrong biking up the Pyrenees. They utilize mainly fatty acids for energy and produce very little lactic acid. They are not eating or drinking and yet they can run for four or five hours. They are 10 times more active than ordinary mice in their home cage. They also live longer – up to three years of age – and are reproductively active for almost three years. In short, they are remarkable animals." However, "they eat twice as much as control mice, but they are half the weight, and are very aggressive. Why this is the case, we are not really sure."