FAYETTEVILLE, Ark., Aug. 26 -- The University of Arkansas issued the following news release:
Elite sports may soon face a form of cheating that requires new detection approaches. Instead of taking a banned substance that clears the body within days, athletes might alter their own DNA with a single injection, rewriting genes that govern muscle growth or how the body uses oxygen.
The change could be permanent and, with today's testing methods, almost invisible.
That scenario, known as gene doping, is still science fiction. No athlete has done it effectively, according to experts, and the health risks are severe, potentially fatal. But two technologies have matured to the point that anti-doping officials no longer treat it as far-fetched.
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