Bioscience News - GEG Tech top picks

Working with Halo Neuroscience in San Francisco, California, the sports group is testing whether stimulating the brain with electricity can improve the performance of ski jumpers by making it easier for them to hone their skills. Other research suggests that targeted brain stimulation can reduce an athlete’s ability to perceive fatigue. Such technologies could aid recovery from injury or let athletes try 'brain doping' to gain a competitive advantage.

A gene test that detects the illicit injection of DNA to boost an athlete's performance will be used at the Olympic Games in Rio for the first time.

The test can identify the presence of synthetic genes for the erythropoietin (EPO) hormone which artificially stimulates the production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells in the body.