Can Doping Tests Stay Ahead of Cheaters?

(Credit: Stefan Schurr/Shutterstock) The 100-meter dash, the pole vault, a marathon, a bike race, and any other sport under the sun have one thing in common: winning depends on pushing physical performance to the max. The pressure on athletes to push their bodies to the limit has produced a longstanding tit-for-tat between the athletes sneaking chemical agents into their blood or body cells to gain an edge and those trying to detect them. Recently, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that any prospective dopers had better think twice about artificially gaining a competitive advantage. The IOC isn’t talking about traditional doping tactics like getting infusions of extra red blood cells or injections of performance-enhancing hormones. Instead, the IOC is taking on gene doping, or using designer drugs consisting of genetic material — in this case, the gene that encodes erythropoietin (EPO). The EPO gene causes bone marrow to make more red blood cells. But having some extra copies of the gene also can lead to a higher-than-normal red blood cell count. The more oxygenated blood in an athlete’s body, the higher their performance. Here’s the catch. EPO in an athlete’s blood made from extra genes would look natural, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has approved tests capable of detecting genetic tempering. Consequently, IOC medical chief Richard Budgett issued the following statement: