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Researchers create database mapping molecular benefits of endurance exercise

Collaborators

We all know that exercise produces tremendous health benefits, but what exactly happens at the molecular level to produce these effects? Researchers at Stanford Medicine conducted nearly 10,000 measurements across almost 20 types of tissues in rats to learn about the effects of eight weeks of endurance exercise on gene expression. 

The team generated millions of changes across the genome and epigenome, providing a comprehensive database for future analysis. However, they have already made some intriguing discoveries, for example, regarding sex differences. To learn more, read the news article by Stanford Medicine. 

Euan Ashley, Matthew T. Wheeler, and Malene E. Lindholm from the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at Stanford played key roles in this work.

This research is part of a series of studies published in May by the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC), a program organized by the National Institutes of Health. Two of the papers were published in Nature and and a third in Cell Metabolism.

The studies also advance the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance Molecular Athlete moonshot that maps molecules and gene expression that occur during performance to help maximize performance, healing, and recovery.

Media coverage: StatNews, Medical News Today, Cosmos Magazine, Singularity Hub, Earth.com, Ground Truths Podcast, Performance Around the Clock Podcast (Episode 18), Alzforum, SciTechDaily, GenomeWeb, News Medical, Medscape

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