‘It’s an arms race’: The new technology set to give drug-testers upper hand before Brisbane 2032
Technology tamfitronics ‘It’s an arms race’: The new technology set to give drug-testers upper hand before Brisbane 2032Tiny chips no bigger than the nail on your pinky may hold the key to cracking down on athletes taking synthetic Erythropoietin (EPO), a performance-enhancing drug, ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.Currently there are just eight experts worldwide who can determine whether someone has tested positive for synthetic EPOs – and none are based in Australia. The process of differentiating between synthetic and naturally occurring EPO is meticulous and challenging – the substances look incredibly similar under a microscope, making positive doping cases difficult to detect.Professor Warwick Bowen, Dr Igor Marinkovic, and Dr Pavlina Naydenova in the laboratory.Credit: Lars MadsenHowever, that may be about to change after researchers at the University of Queensland announced a partnership with...