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Research shows that lab-engineered muscle responds to a workout
It's fairly well known that if you want to get ripped, you gotta pump some iron. But what's more of a surprise is that lab-engineered muscle also responds to a workout. Researchers at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Institute for Regenerative Medicine have been looking at a way to help the body grow new muscle, and found that cells derived from muscle tissue (on a bio-compatible material) responded to "exercise." The research also showed that when tissue was applied to mice with reduced back muscles, those which received the exercised flesh enjoyed significant recovery benefits over those that just received the "sedentary" cells. The scientists who conducted the study suggest that if this was done on an equivalent human scale, muscle would have recovered to 70 percent of the force of native tissue within two months -- what they consider a significant amount. So if you ever need a transplant, perhaps that Thighmaster in the loft will finally come to use.
Tweet_Fit tweets while you sweat to the oldies (video)
The Shake Weight it is not, but as 21st century workout solutions go, Tweet_Fit certainly has the potential to get people talking -- or, at the very least, tweeting. Developed by a UK design student, the connected gym accessory attaches to the end of a standard dumbbell and sends updates to your Twitter account when you start and stop your workout. Take it offline and it guides you through the perfect curl. Tweet_Fit's designer points out that it offers a novel way for trainers to keep track of their clients, and can be used to spur healthy competition between friends. Given, it won't make bragging about how much you can bench any easier, but, then, tweeting an invitation to the gun show is so impersonal. Tweet_Fit is still a prototype, but you can check out a video of the Twitter-enabled dumbbell in action after the break. [Thanks, Fraser]
Everybody's doing it: Wii workouts
We've run across a couple of bloggers taking on Wii Sports workout regimens and we must say that it does sound appealing. It's funny -- preWii, people were complaining about the potentially tiring effect of playing for hours, and now other people are looking to maximize that very effect. We must say that a few rounds of boxing or tennis are pretty nice after a long day at the computer. What's your take on it? Think that Wii Sports can have any effect on a gamer's physique?
