Gene doping had been an issue at the 2008 Olympics back in August when a German documentary showed evidence of this practice in the host country. The documentary suggested that despite attempts by anti-doping authorities to stop the use of anabolic steroids and EPO, this class of drugs were still widely available to athletes in China. And what’s worse (or better, to those who just didn’t want to lose) the biotechnology of gene doping seemed to be available also as one Chinese doctor offered the service to a disguised reporter.

Now, gene doping is being spotlighted again, not in China but in Switzerland, as a scientific research and a sci-fi novel tackled the controversial issue.

Professor Max Gassmann of Zurich University’s Institute of Veterinary Physiology has manipulated the erythropoietin (EPO) gene of mice to produce more oxygen carrying red blood cells. This process is likely viable to be transferred to humans, according to an article by Swissinfo.

The professor says that athletes may not be practicing gene doping yet; however, it’s definitely on the horizon as some people may be carrying out clinical trials similar to his precisely to determine the potentials of gene manipulation.

“I can hardly imagine that we had a gene doping cheat winning at the Beijing Olympics,” he told Swissinfo. “But there has been doping throughout history and if gene doping becomes viable then you cannot stop it, because people want to win.”

Author Beat Glogger, meanwhile, has taken the theory to a more mainstream stage by writing a sci-fi thriller entitled “Run For My Life”, which is about genetically modified athletes. Both Glogger and Gassmann contributed to a Swiss sports ministry document warning about the risks of gene doping.

From Swissinfo:

The fledgling medical science of gene therapy has already produced some breakthrough results, but still has some way to go before it is perfected. It involves the insertion of genes into the patient’s cells and tissues.

Scientists hope the treatment can one day become a standard cure for patients suffering from such conditions as immune deficiency and muscular dystrophy.

One method of introducing healthy genes into the body is by injecting manipulated viruses that “infect” cells with the properly functioning genes rather than their own harmful genetic material.

Another method is to extract cells from the patient’s body, insert the gene and then put the cells back. White blood cells or bone marrow cells are commonly used in this technique.
It is also theoretically possible to insert healthy genes into the sperm or eggs of patients with genetically transmitted conditions. However, this practice has been banned in many countries on ethical grounds.

The next big step in gene therapy is the discovery of how to control the activity of genes once they have been introduced into the body. Scientists are working on drugs that could switch the genes on and off.