Using powerful new visualization technologies, researchers have captured the first 3-D images of the structure of a key muscle receptor, providing new insights on how muscles develop across the animal kingdom and setting the stage for possible future treatments for muscular disorders.
Tag: Muscles
For Bigger Muscles Push Close to Failure, For Strength, Maybe Not
When lifting weights, do you wonder how pushing yourself to the point of failure—where you can’t do another rep—impacts your results? New research finds that if you’re aiming for muscle growth, training closer to failure might be more effective.

New gene therapy for muscular dystrophy offers hope
The UW Medicine-led research focuses on delivering a series of protein packets inside a shuttle vector to replace the defective DMD gene within the muscles. The added genetic code will then start producing dystrophin, the protein lacking in patients with muscular dystrophy.

Toothed whale echolocation organs evolved from jaw muscles
Genetic analysis finds evidence suggesting that acoustic fat bodies in the heads of toothed whales were once the muscles and bone marrow of the jaw.
Social media giants send mixed signals on muscle-building supplements content
While social media platforms have strict policies on illegal muscle-building drugs, the policies around legal muscle-building dietary supplements vary
Food insecurity linked to muscle dysmorphia symptoms in adolescent and young adults
Food insecurity, a significant and persistent problem affecting many Canadians due to economic disparities and limited access to nutritious food, has long-lasting repercussions on physical and mental health.
Toward a safer ‘artificial muscle’ material
Some polymers can expand and contract — acting like artificial muscles — but only when stimulated by high voltages. Researchers in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces report a series of thin, elastic films that respond to lower electrical charges, representing a step toward artificial muscles.
How Gut Microbes Help Mend Damaged Muscles
Now, in a surprising new discovery, Harvard Medical School researchers have found that a class of regulatory T cells (Tregs) made in the gut play a role in repairing injured muscles and mending damaged livers.
In an even more unexpected twist, the researchers found that gut microbes fuel the production of Tregs, which act as immune healers that go on patrol around the body and respond to distress signals from distant sites of injury.
Kids with Cerebral Palsy Have More Small Muscle Fibers, More Stem Cells in Contractured Muscles
Article title: Resident muscle stem myogenic characteristics in postnatal muscle growth impairments in children with cerebral palsy Authors: Ryan E. Kahn, Timothy Krater, Jill E. Larson, Marysol Encarnacion, Tasos Karakostas, Neeraj M. Patel, Vineeta T Swaroop, Sudarshan Dayanidhi From the…
Spontaneous baby movements have purpose
Spontaneous, random baby movements aid development of their sensorimotor system, according to new research led by the University of Tokyo.
Fruit flies use two muscles to control pitch for stable flight
The flight of insects may look effortless but, as with any animal, their movements would be wildly uneven without an intricate system of neural signaling and muscle response to stabilize and steer them.
Is weakness the new smoking? Muscle strength tied to biological age, study shows
Muscle weakness marked by grip strength is associated with accelerated biological age, a new study suggests. Results were found using “age acceleration clocks” based on DNA methylation, a process that provides a molecular biomarker and estimator of the pace of aging. Researchers say this suggests potential to adopt use of grip strength as a way to screen individuals for future risk of functional decline, chronic disease and early mortality.
A New Framework for Investigating Stability During Walking
By creating a new framework for using mechanical energetics as a measurement for stability, Georgia Tech researchers have gained deeper insights into how and why we fall.
High Blood Insulin Levels Lead to More Nervous System Activity in Muscles
Article title: Role of the arterial baroreflex in the sympathetic response to hyperinsulinemia in adult humans Authors: Neil J. McMillan, Rogerio N. Soares, Jennifer L. Harper, Brian Shariffi, Alfonso Moreno-Cabañas, Timothy B. Curry, Camila Manrique-Acevedo, Jaume Padilla, Jacqueline K. Limberg…

Age shall not weary them when it comes to discus and javelin
Discus and javelin throwers as well as marathon runners and race walkers are likely to achieve their best performances at a later age than sprinters, hurdlers and middle-distance runners. Why? It comes down to muscle fibres and technique.
Scientists identify compound that stimulates muscle cells in mice
UCLA researchers have identified a compound that can reproduce the effect of exercise in muscle cells in mice. The findings are published today in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.
Stress during Pregnancy May Negatively Affect Baby’s Muscles
Research in sheep suggests that high levels of a stress hormone during pregnancy may alter gene expression in multiple muscle groups of offspring. These shifts may affect heart, breathing and skeletal muscle function, and could potentially increase risks of inflammation and infection. The study is published ahead of print in Physiological Genomics.

Research reveals how muscles talk to the brain to regulate feeding behavior
A study from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital sheds light on the mechanisms governing feeding behavior in fruit flies and how skeletal muscle communicates energy needs to the brain.