Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Exercise pill?

I follow a few science blogs and "like" a few science pages on facebooks. These people are pros at blogging and the sites have administrators that are quite the nerds! I say that with profound awe, not as an insult. I mean, some of these science bloggers are scientists during the day, and still they find the time to be writers at night or dawn or whenever. They're not paid to blog, mind you. They get paid with satisfaction from the exchange in the micro-community that they've created. Rants, rages, grievances, and occasional agreements are all there on the bottom comment section for everyone to read or snicker at. 
 
I know that the facebook sites are a bit different, and that they are managed by teams of individuals who are probably monetarily compensated. Still, where do they dig all those info? I'm grateful that as I take a break for lunch and park my brain on the social network, I am able to read about some interesting phenomena out there. Often times, I walk away scratching my head, thinking: "BUT WHY?" 
 
For instance, today I learned that researchers found that when the erythropoietin (EPO) hormone level in the brain is elevated in mice, they were more motivated to exercise. The Evolution page administrator goes on to ask whether a pill that would make you want to exercise harder isn't too far off in the future! Crazy, right? You can read the original article published here. But seriously, is this generation really too lazy now that we need to pop a pill to motivate us to exercise? Next thing you know we'll be looking for pills that would make kids want to study more and play video games less. Or pills to help us win the Tour de France!! .... Oh wait.

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