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Turbo Gene: Getting a speed boost from DNA

By Sorcha McDonagh

- More than 2 years ago

Whether you’re better suited to run a marathon or a 100-meter sprint correlates with a gene called ACTN3, researchers find.

RUNNING START. World-class sprinters are more likely than their marathon-running counterparts to have alpha-actinin-3 protein at work in their fast-twitch muscles.

The gene encodes the protein alpha-actinin-3, which functions in the so-called fast-twitch muscles.