Rio 2016: Genetically Modified Athletes?

Officials from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will roll out a brand new, previously unannounced form of drug testing for the international athletes competing at the Summer Olympic Games. In the past, the WADA has tested athletes in search of synthetic chemicals and hormones that would boost the athlete's performance in the arena. However, the newest form of "cheating" may come from within the athlete's own body.

The WADA test will identify if an athlete has artificially manipulated their genetic material through a process called gene doping. While there is zero previous evidence that gene doping is even happening, it makes sense for WADA to try to get out in front of the activity. Typically, the WADA is playing catch-up from the time a new steroid or performance-enhancing drug is created until a reliable and accurate test can be created and effectively administered. 

In 1989, a synthetic version of the blood-boosting hormone erythropoietin (EPO) was created to combat anemia in chemotherapy patients. However, endurance athletes quickly realized the drug would enhance their red blood cell count, drastically improving their on-course performance. In the decade that followed, cyclists, cross-country skiers and other elite athletes injected EPO without any means from the WADA to combat its rampant use. 

Today, the greatest potential threat to the integrity of sport comes from inside the human body. Typically, human kidneys produce EPO when the blood’s oxygen supply is running low, like during a marathon. The hormone then triggers the production of more oxygen-carrying red blood cells. Hypothetically, someone could insert genes into their DNA that would synthesize more EPO than a body’s normal ability.

The test for gene doping was developed by a molecular biologist at Australia’s National Measurement Institute and has two parts: One checks for the virus a scientist would use to deliver the new DNA to the body, and the second part sequences a person’s EPO genes. A normal stretch of DNA has sequences of introns between the exon genes that produce the EPO protein. An artificial DNA sequence has all the EPO genes right next to each other, with no introns separating them.

“We feel there’s a great risk this novel technology will be used, so we are being proactive for the first time.” says Carl Johan Sundberg, an exercise physiologist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden who reviewed the new test for WADA. 

Read more: http://www.wired.com/2016/07/olympic-drug-cops-will-scan-genetically-modified-athletes/

http://futurism.com/olympic-doping-authorities-worried-gene-therapy-may-be-the-new-drug-of-choice-at-rio/