The unique genetic change that turned horses into athletic powerhouses

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The unique genetic change that turned horses into athletic powerhouses

April 4, 20257:00 AM ET
By Jonathan Lambert


Horses are exceptional athletes, able to push their large bodies farther and faster than many other animals.
Darrell Gulin/Getty Images/The Image Bank RF

Gianni Castiglione did not set out to study horses.

The Vanderbilt University biologist and his colleagues were interested in how different animal species balance the need to produce energy with the harmful byproducts of that production.

"To make energy, we've made a deal with the devil to, basically, have a slow burning fire in our cells," he said. That fire essentially burns oxygen to create energy. But that kicks up a lot of smoke, or oxidative stress, that can harm cells.

Horses, it turns out, have evolved an unusual way of regulating this tradeoff that allows them to produce more energy without incurring more cellular damage, researchers report in the journal Science. Those genetic changes may, in part, explain how horses became such powerful athletes, able to outrun and outlast virtually all other animals.

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