Wired has an interesting story about "exercise in a pill". The article outlines ongoing research into drugs that can mimic the effects of exercise, including, in one study, improving stamina 44 percent in "couch potato" lab mice.
Read moreToday, researchers are reporting that an experimental drug can mimic the results of an exercise regimen -- with no exercise required. After four weeks of taking the pill, mice who hadn't worked out displayed a 44 percent increase in their running endurance.
"It’s tricking the muscle into ‘believing’ it’s been exercised daily," said the study's lead researcher, Ronald Evans of the Salk Institute, in a release. "It’s basically the couch potato experiment, and it proves you can have a pharmacologic equivalent to exercise."