When you applaud the strength and speed of an animal or athlete, you probably don’t praise their tendons (the cords of connective tissue that attach muscles to bones)—but maybe you should. Scientists at Scripps Research have discovered a genetic mutation that gives tendons the ability to store more energy, letting mice jump higher and reach faster speeds than usual, as the team reported June 1, 2022, in Science Translational Medicine. Preliminary data on humans suggests that the gene variant, which is in a sensor protein known as PIEZO1, might play a similar role in people.