The notorious Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative, in recent years have offered many high profile athletes a magic serum to make them go faster and go higher and be stronger than they ever were. Scientists concoct these magic serums and the edge over others has not come out in the heat of competition but in the confines of laboratories.

So if laboratories can formulate drugs that enhance performance, can they also make in the future gene-altering medication to help in the improvement of athlete’s capacity and capability? It may not be too far off since the next step would be genetic modification, it may not be too far fetched an idea. Imagine injecting a drug that can make webbed feet and hands, or produce sweat that makes the skin slicker or a hormone that doubles the lung capacity. These are out there and nothing can be done to stop it as believed by many academics like Andy Miah of the University of the West of Scotland, .

This very same dilemma was the main topic for a forum organized by the American Enterprise Institute. This conservative forum of academics and businessmen bemoans the drive towards the finding the biological edge for sports and athletes in general. Gene doping, as it is now being known, may seem to be a few years away but many participants agreed on how it should be governed by sports associations.

The primary agency tasked to oversee this is the World Anti-Doping Agency. This body governs the determination of what substances are banned from competition at the Olympic level. In an unprecedented decision, it also has prohibited gene doping despite the fact that there is no proof as to its practice and no test as been formulated to find out about it.

The task seems to be ethereal at best, but many believe, like Theodore Friedman of the University of California in San Diego, that in the difficulty lies the answer to this perceived menace in the purity of sports. It depends entirely on WADA on how they would address this, since one would have to go to the cellular level and not merely look for tell tale signs in a urine or blood sample. There is still much to learn about this field, Friedman continues and it is good that the sporting world is early on its feet to learn about these issues.

The US Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart sees that there is still a long road ahead for gene doping and the lessons from BALCO has raised a consciousness that there is a clear demand for the service but recognizes the fact the risk that it would become a major force is still in its early stages. Discussing it helps in finding ways to address it.

Long time Olympic hurdlers king Edwin Moses recognizes that gene doping is an option, but not the main one. The standard techniques in doping would still be practiced since they are much easier to do and easier to hide. Gene doping, being in its infancy, may not be an attractive choice for those seeking immediate results. But as the popular adage goes, those who cheat never truly win but only cheat themselves.

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