Olympic Officials Will Test Athletes for Gene-Doping
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The future is here. Olympic drug authorities will now test athletes for evidence of genetic modification, in addition to other performance enhancing drugs. The International Olympic Committee’s medical and scientific director has added that while the newly developed test for gene-doping will not be used during the 2016 Rio Olympics, it will be administered retroactively on samples pending approval by the World Anti-Doping Agency, the CBC reports.
The statute of limitations on drug testing is relatively long, and the IOC allows re-testing of samples from athletes up to 10 years after the games, allowing newer technologies to assist in rooting out cheaters.
Advancements in gene-editing technology have progressed to the extent that it is plausible to insert snippets of DNA into tissue, to program muscles to gain mass and produces performance-enhancing hormones, Wired reports. One such hormone, erythropoeitin (EPO), is produced in greater quantities by the kidneys when the body is running low on oxygen, boosting production of red blood cells. Authorities are worried that dishonest athletes may turn to labs and doctors to administer genetic modifications that boost EPO production.
IOC officials have turned to Australian scientist Anna Baoutina who tests for viruses (which are commonly used a vehicles for DNA delivery) and sequences the EPO genes for evidence of modification.
Of course, using gene-doping to boost EPO production is just one possible scenario among a plethora. Indeed, there are many other conceivable ways in which genetic modification could be used to boost athletic performance including boosting insulin production, which underscores how difficult it will be to stay ahead of unscrupulous athletes. Not to mention the immense expertise, equipment, resources, and money that goes into gene-testing as opposed to simply testing blood and urine.
Gene-doping introduces an unprecedented, but inevitable wrinkle in the ongoing cat and mouse game between cheaters and drug-testing authorities.
