Horizon speaks to Dr Olivier Rabin, the science director of the World Anti-Doping Agency, who explains how putting a stop to the development of ‘gene doping’ is one of the institution’s main research priorities.
We find out how football fans are being coaxed out of the pub and onto the sports field, and we learn about the digital 'smart trainers' which could cut back on sports injuries.
Top tennis tournaments Roland Garros and Wimbledon both take place in June, and Horizon finds out about the technology that is shaping the future of the sport in an interview with Dr Francesco Ricci Bitti, President of the International Tennis Federation.
We also hear from a project whose findings suggest that, contrary to popular belief, exercise does not always make you healthier.
Innovations such as the Hawk-Eye line calling system, high-tech rackets, strings and smart monitoring can improve the game for tennis players, referees and spectators. However, too much innovation could change the nature of tennis, says Francesco Ricci Bitti, the president of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Horizon Magazine spoke to him about tennis innovation at the EU’s Innovation Convention 2014.
Bluetooth-connected smart trainers could advise runners in real time if they are at risk of injuring themselves, based on an analysis of their running pattern.
Many football fans watch matches on the sofa or in the pub, and their fitness levels often contrast hugely with those of the players on the field. New efforts are underway to convert their fandom into motivation to get active and improve their health, or even to channel their support in socially beneficial ways.
People do not always get healthier after exercise – that is the finding of several EU-funded research projects looking into the prevention of lifestyle-related diabetes, heart failure and osteoporosis. Now they are trying to work out why.
The idea that an athlete could change their genes to grow bigger muscles, or increase their body’s production of red blood cells, may sound like the stuff of fantasy, but halting the development of ‘gene doping’ technology is one of the main research priorities of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), according to Dr Olivier Rabin, the organisation’s science director.