Mice ascend Everest to combat doping in sport

jerry submitted, created time 7 months 1 week (www.newscientist.com)

Researchers are looking for biochemical markers of the body's response to high altitude, as they could provide a test for gene doping by athletes...

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: stamina science and culture mountain climbing mountains altitude gene doping olympics doping cheating athletics athletes sports mouse model EPO erythropoietin

Amputee runner back in the game, but are the data sound?

Darkfrog submitted, created time 7 months 2 weeks (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

The fastest man on no legs has been un-disqualified from the Olympics. Oscar Pistorius, who runs on two prosthetic feet called Cheetahs, had been barred from inclusion in the Olympics because a team of scientists hired by the International Association of Athletics Federations ruled that his prostheses gave him an unfair advantage. A new study, performed at Mr. Pistorius's request, shows otherwise.

This article, unlike some of the more human-interest ones I've read, really delves into the studies themselves, how they were performed and what may have been wrong with them

3 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: Oscar Pistorius amputees athletics sports politics running olympics

Beijing May Green for the Olympics, but Long-Term Forecast Is Gray

d8allen submitted, created time 8 months 3 weeks (www.nytimes.com)

Polution in Bejing

2 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: China Beijing air pollution athletes Olympics pollution

Amputee barred from Olympics!

Darkfrog submitted, created time 11 months 3 weeks (www.nytimes.com)

The fastest man on no legs, South African double amputee Oscar Pistorius has been declined for inclusion in the 2008 Olympic games -- because his prosthetic legs, officials claim, give him an unfair advantage.

NY Times is being tricky again. Here's the URL: (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/14/sports/othersports/14cnd-pistorius

4 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: amputees prosthetics oscar pistorius olympics science and culture sports

China turns safety drive to dirty restaurants

Reviver submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (www.reutershealth.com)

China will crack down on dirty restaurants, the government announced on Friday as it seeks to combat lax food safety and prepare for wary visitors during Beijing's 2008 Olympics.

1 comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: drug safety food health Olympics

"Fastest man on no legs" has unfair advantage at the Olympics?

Darkfrog submitted, created time 1 year 7 months (www.nytimes.com)

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Oscar Pistorius, who had both legs amputated when he was a baby for medical reasons, can now run the one hundred meter dash in under eleven seconds. He wants to cut that time down even further so that he can run for his native South Africa in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The question, though, is whether his light prosthetic legs give him an unfair advantage over the rest of us stringy meatballs. I.A.A.F

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: amputees athletics prosthetics biomechanics physiology Olympics