Genetic Technology And Sport

Will the genetic design of athletes destroy sport ... or will it lead to a new and extraordinary age of athletic achievement? Exploring a new territory in sport and ethics, this edited collection contains some of the best new writing that has emerged from the debates concerning the uses of genetic technologies to improve sport performance. Issues covered include: * gene technology and sports ethics * genetic testing in sports * gene technology and the sporting ethos * gene technology and gender equality in sport. This cutting-edge text is the first on the subject to analyze gender specific questions that arise from genetically modified sport and is likely to provoke further debate in the world of sport and bio-ethics. Contributors include Lincoln Allison, Ruth Chadwick, Arne Ljungqvist, Andy Miah, Christian Munthe, Bengt Saltin, Angela Schnieder and many more.

In a provocative analysis of sport ethics and human values, Genetically Modified Athletes imagines the brave new world of sport. The internationally acclaimed book examines this issue at a crucial time in its theorisation, questioning the very cornerstone of sporting and medical ethics, asking whether sporting authorities can, or even should, protect sport from genetic modification. This book brings together sport studies and bioethics to challenge our understanding of the values that define sport. We already allow that athletes can optimise their performance by the use of technologies; without wishing to assert that 'anything goes' in sports performance enhancement, Andy Miah argues that simply being human matters in sport and that genetic modification does not have to challenge this capacity. Genetically Modifies Athletes includes examination of: * the concept of 'good sport' and the definition of cheating * the doped athlete - should we be more sympathetic? * the role of the medical industry * the usefulness (or not) of the terms 'doping' and 'anti-doping'. An important and growing field of interest, this book should be read by students, academics and practitioners.

This second edition of Genetics and Sports expands on topics previously discussed in an attempt to create an integrated and holistic understanding of the field of sports genomics. It is an update on technologies and on the role of genetics in training, performance, injury, and other exercise-related phenotypes. Ethical concerns and the importance of counselling before and after genetic testing are also addressed. It is increasingly important to understand the field of genetics and sports because of the potential to use and misuse information. All exercise scientists, sport and exercise clinicians, athletes, and coaches need to be adequately informed to ensure that genetic information is accurately and properly used. Genetics and Sports is, therefore, highly recommended to all of these groups.

Advances in genetics have begun to deliver on their promise of new and improved approaches to the prevention and treatment of human disease, including the gene-based therapeutics. The international sports community has begun to recognize the potential harmful use of gene transfer technology by athletes. The task of monitoring and controlling sports doping must be a truly cooperative effort, involving the cooperation of a range of local, national, and international organizations. There are very serious broad social and ethical issues at stake that relate to our definition of sports and its role in our society, as well as the social and ethical principles that are challenged or breached through sport doping, determining which forms of performance enhancement – in sport or any other realm of human activity – are acceptable, and what makes the enhancement of sport performance different from enhancement in other areas of human activity (e.g., cosmetic surgery, mood and learning enhancement through drugs, and drug-based “treatment of physical and intellectual changes in normal aging process). This book tackles all these issues and more, serving as the first such focused treatment of this increasingly important topic, which has broad-based implications for science, medicine, sports, and society.

"For elite athletes seeking a winning advantage, manipulation of their own genetic code has become a realistic possibility. In Genetic Technology and Sport, experts from sports science, genetics, philosophy, ethics and international sports administration describe the potential applications of the new technology and debate the questions surrounding its use." "Genetic Technology and Sport is an accessible, informed and detailed exploration of the key issues surrounding sport and genetic modification. It raises profound moral and ethical questions about the value of sport, and vital practical questions about its governance. For sports professionals and administrators - and anyone concerned for the future of sport - this is essential reading."--Jacket.

The New York Times bestseller – with a new afterword about early specialization in youth sports – by the author of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. The debate is as old as physical competition. Are stars like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams genetic freaks put on Earth to dominate their respective sports? Or are they simply normal people who overcame their biological limits through sheer force of will and obsessive training? In this controversial and engaging exploration of athletic success and the so-called 10,000-hour rule, David Epstein tackles the great nature vs. nurture debate and traces how far science has come in solving it. Through on-the-ground reporting from below the equator and above the Arctic Circle, revealing conversations with leading scientists and Olympic champions, and interviews with athletes who have rare genetic mutations or physical traits, Epstein forces us to rethink the very nature of athleticism.

Advances in genetics and related biotechnologies are having a profound effect on sport, raising important ethical questions about the limits and possibilities of the human body. Drawing on real case studies and grounded in rigorous scientific evidence, this book offers an ethical critique of current practices and explores the intersection of genetics, ethics and sport. Written by two of the world's leading authorities on the ethics of biotechnology in sport, the book addresses the philosophical implications of the latest scientific developments and technological data. Distinguishing fact from popular myth and science fiction, it covers key topics such as the genetic basis of sport performance and the role of genetic testing in talent identification and development. Its ten chapters discuss current debates surrounding issues such as the shifting relationship between genetics, sports medicine and sports science, gene enhancement, gene transfer technology, doping and disability sport. The first book to be published on this important subject in more than a decade, this is fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in the ethics of sport, bioethics or sport performance.

Breakthroughs in genetics present us with a promise and a predicament. The promise is that we will soon be able to treat and prevent a host of debilitating diseases. The predicament is that our newfound genetic knowledge may enable us to manipulate our nature—to enhance our genetic traits and those of our children. Although most people find at least some forms of genetic engineering disquieting, it is not easy to articulate why. What is wrong with re-engineering our nature? The Case against Perfection explores these and other moral quandaries connected with the quest to perfect ourselves and our children. Michael Sandel argues that the pursuit of perfection is flawed for reasons that go beyond safety and fairness. The drive to enhance human nature through genetic technologies is objectionable because it represents a bid for mastery and dominion that fails to appreciate the gifted character of human powers and achievements. Carrying us beyond familiar terms of political discourse, this book contends that the genetic revolution will change the way philosophers discuss ethics and will force spiritual questions back onto the political agenda. In order to grapple with the ethics of enhancement, we need to confront questions largely lost from view in the modern world. Since these questions verge on theology, modern philosophers and political theorists tend to shrink from them. But our new powers of biotechnology make these questions unavoidable. Addressing them is the task of this book, by one of America’s preeminent moral and political thinkers.