Image courtesy The Guardian

Ladies and gentlemen, I present Usain Bolt.  You’re all familiar, I’m sure, with this real life Speedy Gonzalez.  Though we share a name (yeah it’s a different spelling, but its close enough), we are sadly of no relation.  Trust me, when I went to Jamaica on my honeymoon I tried to claim him as one of my own, but I guess there’s not enough of a resemblance or something.

For one thing, I certainly do not possess the athletic prowess of this man.  Or of any Olympian for that matter.  They are certainly a special breed, but what gives them that ability?  Thousands upon thousands of hours of training – sure.  But I can go jogging all I want and I’ll never be good at it.  Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have just published an article in the Journal of Clinical Investigation in which they describe their discovery of a gene linked to endurance, giving me something to blame my 10-minute mile on. Continue reading →