Trend Alert: Going for peak performance?

A few months ago, UltraFuture wrote an article exploring Oscar Pistorius’ participation in the Olympics and extrapolated some transhumanistic scenarios. In the following article, Sheila Moorcroft of Shaping Tomorrow explores the trends at the leading edge of human performance enhancement sciences.
Sheila Moorcroft, Research Director, Shaping Tomorrow

Sporting performance and achievement are high on the agenda with the opening of the 2008 Olympics: so too are concerns about doping. With the arrival soon, if not already, of gene based approaches to enhanced performance, identifying illicit performance enhancement may become well nigh impossible. As a result, might we see a more risk oriented, no-holds barred approach to sport emerge in future?

What is changing?

Gene based therapy is primarily being developed to treat major diseases. However, a variety of techniques are also being developed that enhance the physical performance of athletes by increasing their red blood cell count or the density of muscles – possibly even specific muscles. These treatments are very difficult to identify, and some athletes may have such mutations, naturally.

Why is this Important?

Risk taking and pushing the boundaries of our personal performance are part of human nature. But, in many countries risk taking is becoming ever more difficult as authorities protect themselves from the possibility of litigation and parents become over protective of their children. This latter point is illustrated in a recent report about the extent to which children are not allowed to climb trees (50%) play conkers (21%) play chase 17% by their parents.

‘Adrenalin edge’ and extreme sports are also rising in popularity. The arrival in the UK of Free Running - an urban sport where participants use the fabric of buildings, bridges etc to ‘run’ and do acrobatics - can be seen as a response to those constraints as well as the latest in a growing line of more extreme free sports.

Mainstream sport already relies on ever greater levels of technology, analysis, training and equipment to achieve performances only ever dreamed of some years ago. If we are also moving into an era where gene based therapies could not only push those barriers further, but also be well nigh impossible to detect and people are looking for ever more risk oriented sport, will there be an argument for having one stream of sport where peak performance using any method possible – as long as it is by personal choice and seen to be safe – is the main rule?

See the original article: Trend Alert: Going for peak performance?