Edmund Hilary may have been the first man to conquer Everest but soon his feat will be repeated by a band of mice. As well as making history, the mice may reveal the natural biochemical changes that take place at high altitude, which could lead to a test for athletes who have had their genes manipulated.
High-altitude training benefits athletes by stimulating production of erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that allows blood to carry more oxygen. Yet it is possible to cheat by artifically boosting EPO levels, either by taking supplements or maybe by manipulating athletes鈥� genes.
While today鈥檚 tests can identify athletes who have taken artificial EPO, they cannot distinguish between EPO occurring naturally and as a result of gene interference. 鈥淕ene doping isn鈥檛 yet in widespread use but it is important for those involved in anti-doping to stay one step ahead,鈥� says a spokesman for the anti-doping authority UK Sport.
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Tejvir Khurana and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, who began ascending Everest on Monday with the mice in tow, hope to find molecular 鈥渟ignatures鈥� in the mice鈥檚 tissue and blood that are only present if EPO is produced in the normal way. If present in humans, such markers could help develop a gene-doping test.
鈥淭he practical challenges they will face are fascinating,鈥� says Mike Grocott, an expert in extreme-environment physiology at University College London. 鈥淧arts of the ascent are technically difficult, particularly if you are carrying a mouse.鈥�
