Born+to+Run?+Little+Ones+Get+Test+for+Sports+Gene

[|New York Times] November 29, 2008 What would you say if you could find out exactly which sport your child was made for? Maybe he or she is a perfect runner, basketball player, or football player. You could find out if you had your child take a test for only $149 that would tell you which genes pertaining to physical endeavors they have. Does this sound too good to be true? It kind of is. While this test does really exist, it isn’t very accurate. The reason that this is not accurate is because a child’s performance in sports is affected by many things. These things are environment, nutrition, training and luck. Only a small part of this is physical ability. This stresses the fact that if you work hard you will be able to do anything you set your mind to. The test consists of a mouth swab and examination of the genes in the DNA. When the biologists examine the genes they look for a specific gene called ACTN3 which is a gene that affects quick twitch muscles that are used in athletics. This can help people if it becomes accurate enough to legitimately predict the child’s performance. It will help parents help their children plot their course in life based on their athleticism at a young age. In other words this is a way to help eliminate the hassles of deciding what you want to do. Chris Bankston March 19, 2010