Gene boosters - Health and Medicine - Brief Article

American Fitness, July-August, 2002

In today's competitive world of sports, many athletes are prepared to risk their health and reputation to win the gold. Several years ago, a team was thrown out of the Tour de France after it was discovered they were taking erythropoetin (EPO)--a hormone that increases red blood cells, thereby increasing oxygen supply and improving endurance. However, it also thickens the blood. To date, at least 20 cyclists are thought to have died from EPO.

Scientists are warning that many athletes are on the verge of using genetic engineering to increase stamina and speed. Some estimate the 2012 Olympics could be the first to have artificially produced athletes, while others predict it could happen as early as 2008. "It's terribly simple in principle," says Simon Eassom, the head of sports studies at de Montfort University in the United Kingdom. "[If] you take [a virus], like the common cold, and remove the disease causing genes and replace them with genes that promote the [production of EPO producing] proteins, you simply inject the virus into the human body." Unlike the easily detected synthetics currently used, EPO from introduced genes is identical to natural EPO, therefore, difficult to identify.

However, gene doping is costly and the ultimate price for an athlete could prove fatal. Unless the International Olympic Committee is willing to spend large sums on sophisticated testing systems, they could find themselves outwitted by genetically enhanced athletes.