This article makes me giggle: The scientists put rats on a treadmill. I’m imagining a tiny little treadmill with a tiny little plastic spray bottle for the mice to disinfect the equipment afterwards.

This is why I’m a writer, not a scientist.

Nevertheless, the story piqued my interest. It’s describes how the mutation of a particular gene in fast muscle fiber (anaerobic, used for short bursts of power) makes it operate like slow muscle fiber (aerobic, for long steady power). If you’ve got the mutation, your body can more easily conquer endurance sports, like running. More people of European and Asian descent have the mutation than Africans, leading researchers to speculate it might have helped humans continent-hop 60,000 years ago.

Genetics is giving us more and more information about the uniqueness of individuals. My roommate studies how genetic mutations affect our brains, and thus our personalities, opening up the potential for specialized gene therapy that attacks problems like bipolar disorder with the equivalent of a laser. Today’s treatment are more like an anvil.

We are truly unique, and until science gives us all the answers - a little scary, and maybe impossible, particularly since physical reality is slowly but surely in flux - we need to pay attention and observe, becoming the scientist of our own bodies to achieve maximum personal health.

What’s right for someone else isn’t right for you, but it’s up to you to figure those differences out.