genetically modifed athletes

[octothorp]

There was an interesting piece on the CBC news last night about the ethics regarding athletes using gene-therapy to enhance performance. The piece was fairly one-sided, just an interview with a pro-genetics pundit (Andy Miah, who has written a book about the subject), but it raised some interesting points.

Here's an article about those issues:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sports/olympics/...condsubsection=

Firstly, one of the big problems with gene therapy is that it is currently undetectable, and it might never be possible to differetiate between genetically modified athletes and those in whom the gene occurs naturally.

The other issue is that genetic therapy will likely be responsible for increasing the health of individuals and populations, and cure diseases. It's not like steroids where an athetes will do far more harm to their systems over the long-term. (Of course, given the newness of the technologies, there could be untold deadly side-effects).

But if we can use gene therapy to enable athletes to run the 100 in under 8 seconds, is there still really a point to competition? Does it render running, lifting, and throwing events pretty much pointless? Is there really any argument anymore for keeping sports 'pure'?

[Cube Inmate]

Originally posted by octothorp@Aug 17 2004, 11:58 AM
But if we can use gene therapy to enable athletes to run the 100 in under 8 seconds, is there still really a point to competition? Does it render running, lifting, and throwing events pretty much pointless? Is there really any argument anymore for keeping sports 'pure'?

Interesting questions there...isn't this elite level of competition primarily a genetic competition anyhow? No matter how hard the majority of us train, we'll never have the genes to compete in (e.g.) the 100 m at the Olympics. Why should someone take pride in the fact that they've been lucky enough to be born with athletic genes?

I'm not saying I wouldn't compete if I could...I've just never thought of it in this way before.

Edit: Honestly, if the result of a genetic modification is still human, then there's still going to be a limit on human performance. Let's let GM humans compete against each other then. If you start crossing humans and grasshoppers, though, then I might see a problem!

[Fuzzy McGillicuddy]

A reality by the next Olympics? It's already here. Although gene therapy could replace or enhance many of the undetectable designer steroids athletes already use.

When I see a country like China that is walking away with the medal count, I don't believe it's simply a question of a country with a huge population, unlimited athletic funding and superior training.

Chinese athletes have been caught with the juice in the past. Now that masking techniques are so much better, most dopers can evade the system. It's certainly not just China. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the elite athletes at the games are taking some form of steroid or gene therapy.