On 30 July, I’ll be one of a number of commentators in a documentary to be screened on the TV channel Arte. The film is about gene doping and is directed by Beat Glogger, an awesome character living in Switzerland. He and I had hoped to work together a few years ago, but it was not to be. The film pulls together a number of views about the likely use of gene transfer in elite sport.
Earlier in the year, Beat came over to Liverpool to film with me at FACT. Beat has known my work for a number of years – he tried to involve me on a WADA publication and met obstacles to my involvement (format, rather than politics I think). Still, my views do not sit well with the World Anti-Doping Agency, although they should.
Our discussions centred on why I think that gene doping would be a good thing for sport and how a culture of ethical performance enhancement would, overall, benefit elite sports industries and bring more credibility to a cultural practice that is harmed by the ongoing uncertainty about what athletes are doing. I look forward to seeing the documentary.
Read more:
Miah, A. (2004) Genetically Modified Athletes: Biomedical Ethics, Gene doping & Sport (Routledge)
also translated into Portuguese by Brazillian publisher, Phorte (‘Atletas Modificados Geneticamente, 2008)
Here’s a reference to a piece I published in the Washington Post in 2008, to give you a snapshot of my views.
And here’s a brief about the film:
Nach zahlreichen Fachartikeln und dem Science-Thriller “Lauf um mein Leben” folgt Beat Gloggers nächstes Werk zum Thema Gendoping. Sein Dokumentarfilm zeigt, was Gendoping ist und warum sich Dopingbekämpfer davor so fürchten.
Und: er zeigt, das Genmanipulation am Menschen nicht nur ein Problem des Sports ist, sondern der gesamten Gesellschaft.
