Gene sport(2002, Feb 21) ABC by P. Willis [link]
This paper documents some research emerging from Australia, concerning the link between genes and performance as described by the ACE gene. The article does a good job at making links to other articles and to researchers involved with the work and, through interview, raises the question about what kinds of research would be acceptable in the pursuit of performance enhancement. The article interviews Kathryn North and Ron Trent, each of whom are involved with the work in Sydney. One of the key critiques of thiskind of research is its possibility to generalise to wide populations, since it relies frequently on relatively small sample sizes. During the inteview, it is noticed that performance as it is represnted through, say, winning a gold medal, is so much more than just one or two genes and so the task to understand the link betwen genetics and performance has only just begun.
It is recognsied that genetic testing will not replace physical tests, but still it is questionable that this valuable aspiration will actually mean much in terms of how the notion of the gene will be appropriate by sporting cultures. Even if talent search does not only look for genetics, this does not mean that people will rely largely on the genetic profile to make important lifestyle choices.