It may not be here, but it will be upon the world of sports in the near future. This is the general feeling among scientists, the media, and sports officials on gene doping.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has recognized the threat of this futuristic method, thus banning it in 2003. At the Beijing Olympics in August, there have been cases which garnered the scrutiny of WADA concerning the drug Repoxygen, a tradename for a type of gene therapy.
Now, a science journalist and a scientist in Switzerland acknowledge the imminent enticement of gene doping to 21st century athletes, displacing synthetic steroids and hormones sooner than later as means to boost athletic performance.
Professor Max Gassmann of Zurich University’s Institute of Veterinary Physiology has manipulated the erythropoietin (EPO) gene of mice to produce more oxygen carrying red blood cells – a process that could eventually be transferred to humans.
Gassmann does not think gene doping has infiltrated sport at the moment but believes some people may already be testing its potential, just as beneficial gene therapy is currently undergoing clinical trials.
“I can hardly imagine that we had a gene doping cheat winning at the Beijing Olympics,” he told swissinfo. “But there has been doping throughout history and if gene doping becomes viable then you cannot stop it, because people want to win.”
Author Beat Glogger has taken the theory a stage further by writing a thriller – “Run For My Life” – about genetically modified athletes. Glogger, also a science journalist, and Gassmann contributed to a Swiss sports ministry document warning about the risks of gene doping.
According to the same article, scientists have already identified more than 150 genes that can influence performance output, such as those that control muscle growth, muscle speed and the production of red blood cells.
Gene manipulation is still at its infancy, requiring more scientific research to ensure effective and safe administration. Athletes who submit themselves to gene doping now can suffer health risks and even death. In Gassmann’s study, genetically modified mice live only half as long as the untreated mice.
Tags: anabolic steroids, “Run For Life”, Beat Glogger, EPO, gene doping, hormones, Professor Max Gassmann, Repoxygen, WADA, Zurich University
Posted in steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Sports