Prime Time 6, Coursebook mit Audio-CD und DVD

9 Doping Reading: Genetically modified Olympians a) Read the text about gene therapy, then choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D) for questions 1–5. Put a cross ( ✘ ) in the correct box. The first one (0) has been done for you. ‰e gen(i)e is out of the bottle 1 People’s desire to nd a shortcut to the podium is as old as the tradition of competitive sports. O en such shortcuts require the assistance of physicians as doping usually just means to apply existing medical therapies to healthy athletes. Today, however, the competition is so intense that existing therapies are o en not enough. So athletes interested in doping and their doctors are constantly looking for new medical developments that could lead to performance- enhancing therapies in the future. In particular, they are interested in a eld known as gene therapy. Gene therapy works by inserting so-called “transgenes” into the body. A transgene is genetic material that has been isolated from one organism and is introduced into a di†erent organism to full a specic function there. e top transgene on the list is the gene for erythropoietin. EPO, as this hormone is known for short, is a substance that regulates the production of red blood cells. More red blood cells mean that the body can take in more oxygen – which results in a better performance of the athlete. ough EPO has been available as medication for over twenty years, doping athletes and their physicians prefer natural EPO produced by the athletes’ bodies. e reason is that EPO, like most performance-enhancing drugs, is banned. However, bans work only if the substance can be detected in drug tests. Evidence suggests that EPO produced as a result of gene therapy will be far harder to detect than synthetically produced EPO. Several other genetic therapies being tested in mice also look as if they may interest the sort of athletes who feel their performance needs a little boost. IGF-1, for example, is a growth factor that promotes the growth of the particular muscle it’s injected into, like the biceps in the upper arm. is might be of interest to people like tennis players and discus throwers. Once strong muscles have been acquired, other genes might then be used to tune their activity. Tweaking PPAR-delta, for instance, alters the way muscles obtain their energy. During longer continuous exercise, muscles burn fat and are less at risk of tiring. For quick and short movements, they burn sugar. is makes them tire quickly but is useful for delivering short bursts of power. Both modes are valuable to athletes, but in di†erent types of events. PPAR-delta controls the switch. ere is a lot of potential in gene therapy. And although there is no evidence that any of these techniques have made their way into real athletes yet, the authorities are taking no chances. e World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sensed which way the wind was blowing several years ago. WADA committed $7.8m – a quarter of its research budget for 2004–07 – to 21 projects intended to develop ways of detecting gene doping. Now another $6.5m is available. ough it would be ironic if the rst successful application of gene therapy were to people who are among the ttest on the planet, it is possible. ( The Economist , 31 July 2008; adapted and abridged) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 124 Sports Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv