Deep within the cellular machinery of aging muscle, a DNA repair protein called OGG1 has revealed an unexpected truth: the integrity of our mitochondrial genome may be as essential to physical vitality as movement itself. Researchers at Rutgers University found that mice engineered to carry elevated levels of OGG1 ran longer, stored fuel more efficiently, and grew mitochondria of remarkable size and abundance — suggesting that the body's capacity to mend its own molecular damage is quietly woven into the fabric of endurance and strength. The discovery, published in the Journal of Biological Ch