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Gene Doping
Fears that gene doping is a reality 3 February 2006 Play The Game
Fears that gene doping has become a reality are emerging in Germany in connection with a court case against former athletics coach, Thomas Springstein. In court, the prosecutor submitted as evidence an e-mail that Springstein sent to a doctor for a Dutch speedskating team asking for instructions on how to buy Repoxygen - a substance which activates a gene that stimulates the body's own EPO production.....
Korea fears for gene dopingBy Rick Wallace. Fox Sports
March 23, 2006
RENEGADE states such as North Korea could emerge as the pioneers of genetic doping of athletes in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, a leading gene scientist has warned.
Professor John Lasko told a forum on drugs in sport yesterday that rogue scientists could develop undetectable gene-doping techniques to give athletes a dramatic and permanent increase in performance.
Athletics authorities get set to detect 'gene doping' New Scientist (subscription) - UK, 10 DEcember There is no evidence that any athletes have so far attempted "gene doping", but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in Montreal, Canada, is taking the threat ...
Gene dopers might be next wave of cheats by Richard Pound
Associated Press
12/3/2005 7:20:14 PM
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - Anti-doping officials and scientists are meeting again to prepare for what is likely to be the next generation of cheats in sports - gene dopers....
Gene doping inevitable but question is when: WADASat Dec 3, 2005 9:27 PM GMT
By Patrick Lannin, Reuters
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Changing genes to increase athletic performance, so-called gene doping, will inevitably happen so work has to start now to find tests for such changes, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Saturday.....
Genetic doping a worry: AIS FOX SPORTS - Australia, Dec 1, 2005 ... "And it's not very difficult to imagine that technology being translated across into humans. "The spectre of gene doping is a real concern.". ...
Gene Doping May Not Elude Testing Currently Available Tests May Detect Injected Genes in Athletes
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by Jennifer Warner, WebMD
Aug. 12, 2004 -- Doping using gene therapy rather than performance-enhancing drugs may not be as stealth as many have predicted. New research shows that gene doping may be detectable with currently available testing methods.
27 October 2005
New performance-enhancing treatment could be more difficult to detect
The following article appears in the October 2005 issue of the State Department's electronic journal Economic Perspectives. It is based on an op-ed article published in The Boston Globe and other newspapers but has been revised and updated for this publication by the author. The complete issue, titled The Promise of Biotechnology, can be viewed on the USINFO Web site.
Oct 21, 2005 Beware of genetic 'enhancements' <http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051021/EDIT02/510210355/1021/EDIT> Cincinnati Enquirer - Cincinnati,OH,USA Recently, Jose Canseco and I were guests on a talk show to discuss gene doping, the genetic equivalent to anabolic steroids - a way to "juice up" to gain a ...
Experts predict gene doping is next temptation for athletes Seattle Times - United States, Oct 9 2005 ... A handful of the 25 experts polled for this series say they believe someone in the athletic world has already tried gene-doping techniques. ...
Beyond Palmeiro: Where's the line?(2005, Aug 8) Newsday, by Arthur Caplan [link]
It's great to see this subject reaching such a well known bioethics figureas Arthur Caplan. For one thing, it lends itself to a slightly different take on the gene doping story: "There is nothing about the reaction to Rafael Palmeiro's downfall that indicates we are ready to deal with the fundamental ethical question raised by his use of steroids - how can we draw the line when it comes to enhancement? Is the point of sport to see what human beings can do without aid of any sort in fair competition? If so, we may need to close the training facilities and cut back on what dietitians and trainers are allowed to do....There is no right answer to what the point of sport is. But Rafael Palmeiro has made it a question no one who cares about sports can avoid. "
Super humans(2005, Aug) BBC Focus, by James Witt [GMA mention]
6 page article in the BBC science and technology magazine. Covers all major issues and includes interview with Dr John Scott, UK Sport Drug Free Sport International Director
Beware mice and men swimming in gene pool(2005, Jul 23) The Guardian, by Harry Pearson[link]
Quoting: "Beasts of a more real sort may also soon be playing a much bigger part in sport. A geneticist recently told me that if I wanted to see the future of athletics I should go to Belgium and look at a field of pedigree beef cattle. Having spent a good deal of time in Belgium doing just that I knew instantly what he was talking about....Slow-twitch fibre is the one associated with cardio- vascular muscles and therefore endurance. According to National Geographic magazine, Evans's mice can run for an hour longer than normal mice, are resistant to weight gain no matter what they are fed on and remain at peak fitness even when they take no exercise.
The race against gene doping(2005, Jul 13) The Orlando Sentinel, Huntington F. Willard [link]
Quoting: "For all of the recent headlines about blood doping and anabolic steroid usage in sports, high-tech gene doping may soon have the dubious honor of rendering them obsolete. National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said as much earlier this year when he appeared before Congress during steroid hearings: "When [gene doping] happens, the issues that our society is discussing today . . . will be as irrelevant as the blacksmith in the automobile age
"Gene doping, the non-therapeutic use of DNA and/or cells to enhance athletic performance, has the potential to offer cheaters a souped-up body that can run faster and jump higher with modifications that are virtually undetectable."
Tests ignore sport's magic(2005, Jun 22) The Age, by Geoff Baum
More reactions on the use of genetic tests to predict sporting success. I quote:
"Back off with that scraper, speculum and patella dish. This is sport, not science. These are footballers, not guinea pigs....But to use science to pre-empt, discriminate and discard is another matter. Call it genetic cleansing and see if it still appeals....To conduct DNA tests on prospective footballers for the purpose of choosing some and eliminating others would itself fail a test, of human dignity."
Caution on gene as predictor(2005, Jun 22) The Age, by Stephen Cauchi and Stathi Paxinos
this follows up on the other recent articles on genetic testing. Interviews with Genetic Technologies about the ACTN3 test.The article clarifies how much these tests cost and how useful (or not) they are.
Thumbs down for DNA checks(2005, Jun 22) The Age, by Karen Lyon and Stathi Paxions
Quoting: "AFL coaches have raised strong concerns over the introduction of genetic testing as a recruiting tool, saying there is no guarantee science will prove any more effective than the methods of testing now used for new talent. Ethical challenges as well as scientific questions were raised yesterday, as coaches grappled with the idea of testing potential recruits for their genetic make-up."
Finally, people are asking critical questions about this use of the technology. For years, the sports world has been quiet about the ethical issues arising from genetic tests. In fact, they have been celebrated as an extension of talent identification. While a rejection of this technoloogy might not be warranted, some acknowledgement that it is not simply uncontroversial has been a long time coming!
Clubs consider genetic tests(2005, Jun 21) The Age, by Ashley Porter
To my knowledge, this is the frist report of sports clubs actually using genetic tests to select and rain athletes, though the details of such use and the subsequent reaction to this was vague, as is indicated from this extract: Mr Gale said such testing was contrary to United Nations privacy laws and other international treaties.
"What if a young superstar gets DNA tested, shows he has a chance of developing a crippling illness by the time he is 35, and is ignored in the draft? And should the club tell him?
"There is no doubt players would be denied a chance to play AFL football if their DNA results indicated there was a possibility of (their) not being as strong or as fast as the next player in line. It would be in breach of every equal opportunity law."
AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said DNA testing was something it would need to refer to its medical officer and medical commissioner. "We have not had an official inquiry (from any club) at this stage," he said.:
Gene therapy looms as next temptations(2005, Jun 5) Globe & Mail, by John Powers
Inteviews with Gary Wadler and Ted Friedmann, related to Lee Sweeney's mice. Emphasises the risk of gene doping and difference between human and animal models.
Inventing Our Evolution(2004, 16 May) Washington Post, by Joel Garreau [link]
Includes interviews with Gregory Stock, John Hoberman, Curt Schilling, H. Lee Sweeney. Carver Mead, and Francis Fukuyama, among others. This is an article promoting Joel Garreau's new book on enhancement. He writes 'Traditionally, human technologies have been aimed outward, to control our environment, resulting in, for example, clothing, agriculture, cities and airplanes. Now, however, we have started aiming our technologies inward. We are transforming our minds, our memories, our metabolisms, our personalities and our progeny.'
