Talents and mutants
How Genetic Testing Will Change Sports
Georgy Golovanov, Hi-tech+
Last year, China's Ministry of Science and Technology announced that genetic testing of athletes would be conducted in the country ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics. The test results will affect the selection of participants, reports Conversation.
As the prices of genetic tests fall around the world, there is growing interest in commercializing this technology. The number of offers is growing along with the risk of misinformation – it turned out to be much more difficult to interpret the test results than to analyze DNA.
The future of athletes may be at risk due to misinterpreted data.
How it works
Two gene variants are usually associated with athletic achievements – ACE II, associated with endurance, and ACTN3 RR, which is responsible for explosive power. However, despite the fact that there is strong evidence of the connection of these genes with athletic achievements, it is not yet possible to predict success based on these markers.
The thing is that sports disciplines usually require a set of qualities and skills that are not limited only to endurance or strength. An athlete's achievements are influenced by many factors, including a wide range of innate and acquired qualities, physical and psychological skills.
The use of genetic selection can, in the opinion of many, undermine the spirit of the Olympic Games and other sports competitions.
Arguments against
In 2015, a number of scientists and specialists in Australia studied the available genetic tests to determine sports potential and compiled a document that became the official position of the Australian Institute of Sports. It says that genetic tests cannot serve as a basis for determining the talents of any child or young athlete or making changes to their training plan.
"The use of a genetic phenotype as an absolute predictor of athletic success or for sports breeding is unscientific and unethical," the document says.
On the contrary, genetic tests can become the ground for widespread discrimination.
Nevertheless, not only China, but also some other countries are going to study the potential of their athletes with the help of genetics. In 2014, it was reported that the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of Uzbekistan is going to conduct a program of sports breeding at the genetic level. There is reason to believe that more and more countries will follow this example, and this may be the beginning of the end of Olympic sports.
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