“Bionic man is not far away”. That’s the assessment of World Anti-Doping Agency director-general David Howman as his organisation prepares to deal with the onset of gene doping.
The process involves DNA being introduced to change a person’s genetic make-up and improve athletic performance through muscle growth, blood production and endurance.
Original lab tests resulted in what were coined “Schwarzenegger mice” and “marathon mice”. Cheats pricked up their ears.
Genes are generally injected into muscle or blood via an inactive virus. They can permanently alter the human genome (the library of an organism’s hereditary information). Drug Free Sport New Zealand boss Graeme Steel refers to the process as “a footprint you can’t get rid of”.
Read the full, original story: Gene doping looms as the next big cheat
