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German Super Baby – mutated gene gives baby superhuman strength

German boy, seven-months old, has a genetic mutation that boosts muscle growth

Superman Lives

In 1999, a 24-year-old former professional sprinter gave birth to a bouncing baby boy in Berlin, Germany.  For the first four years, the baby boy had a somewhat normal life – until researchers found out he was a “super baby”.

The super-strong child was examined by Markus Schuelke, a neurologist at the University Medical Centre (Berlin, Germany), just after birth but researchers are not releasing much information and the family wishes to remain private.  What they will say is that the boy is able to hold weights weighing nearly 10 pounds out to his side with his arms completely extended.  Most adults have trouble doing this with half that weight.  At 4 years old, the boy is extremely muscular, displaying bulging calves and biceps.  His muscle mass is twice that of normal 4-year-old children and his fat content is one half as much.  He is as near a perfect specimen of man as you can get.

Why the German super baby is so strong

German boy, seven-months old, has a genetic mutation that boosts muscle growth

Researchers have explained that the superhuman strength is the result of a mutated gene (called the “Mighty Mouse” gene) that is intended to restrict the production of myostatin.  Myostatin, in the human body, limits the growth of muscles. In rare cases, one copy may be mutated, allowing unrestricted production of protein and producing extremely powerfully built people.

The boy’s mother, father, uncle, and three other close relatives all have mutated copies and are known to be very muscular and extremely strong.  In the German Super Baby’s case, it is even stranger – he has both copies of the DNA segment mutated, something scientists have never seen before.  The result – a human that may grow to enormous proportions with the ability to lift extreme amounts of weight and possibly run faster than any human in history.

Researchers had already known that myostatin restricts muscle growth and knew that drugs limiting its production would produce super mice.  Such super mice had been created in a laboratory environment as early as 1997.  As for the German Super Baby, researchers are happy to report that the boy is perfectly healthy right now but fear that he may suffer heart or other ailments as he grows older.

To date the child’s true identity remains a mystery.

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In-Article Image Credits

German boy, seven-months old, has a genetic mutation that boosts muscle growth via NBC News by New England Journal Of Medicine with usage type - Editorial use (Fair Use)
German boy, seven-months old, has a genetic mutation that boosts muscle growth via NBC News by New England Journal Of Medicine with usage type - Editorial use (Fair Use)

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German boy, seven-months old, has a genetic mutation that boosts muscle growth via NBC News by New England Journal Of Medicine with usage type - Editorial use (Fair Use)

 

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