The Olympic Gold Medallist Caster Semenya’s Naturally High Testosterone Levels Are Said to Boost Her Sporting Prowess, but is This Really the Case?
Caster Semenya, South African athlete and Olympic gold medallist, has been embroiled in controversy for much of her career over her higher-thanusual testosterone level, a disorder of sex development (DSD) known as hyperandrogenism. Semenya has recently been at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, where she lost an appeal against the new rule proposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the governing body for athletics, that prevents female athletes with hyperandrogenism from competing in events from 400m to 1,500m if their testosterone level is above five nanomoles per litre. For comparison, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust gives reference ranges for testosterone levels of 0.7 to 2.8 nanomoles per litre in women, and 10 to 30 nanomoles per litre in men. We do not know the details of Caster’s medical record other than that she was born and raised as a female baby, infant and girl and went on to become a talented athlete.
この記事は Very Interesting の September/October 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Very Interesting の September/October 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
TAKE IT SLOW
Slow running is a fitness trend with some hard and fast science behind it
Physics, AI and music share a common thread. You just have to know where to look
Studying science can lead you in many directions and open doors to unexpected possibilities along the way
BED BUGS VS THE WORLD
When bloodthirsty bed bugs made headlines for infesting Paris Fashion Week in 2023, it shone a spotlight on a problem that's been making experts itch for decades: the arms race going on between bed bugs and humans
Kids are the key to understanding obesity. But we need more of their genes...
We can unravel the role that bodyweight plays in disease, but we need a bigger, more diverse, sample of genetic material to do so
COVID inquiry: What did we learn and what can we do better in future pandemics?
Masks, social distancing, lockdowns... how effective was the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
One hormone could be the key that unlocks a cure for morning sickness
The nausea and vomiting that, in extreme cases, can endanger mothers and babies might soon be just a memory
THE WORLD'S WEIRDEST CREATURES
Under the sea and upon the land, some animals look - to us - pretty strange...
WHEN MIND AND MACHINE COLLIDE
First, Elon Musk wanted to make electric cars ubiquitous, then he wanted to make space exploration a private enterprise. Now, with Neuralink, his newest venture, Musk hopes to merge humans and artificial intelligence. Turns out, it might not be such a crazy idea...
COME OUT OF YOUR SHELL
Social anxiety is more than just being shy. It's a phobia born out of our evolutionary past. But that raises a puzzling question: why do so many of us fear human interaction when we're supposed to be the most sociable species on the planet?
SPACE ODDITIES
Take a tour of the weirdest spots in the universe, where the 'normal' rules don't apply. Places that squeeze time, blow bubbles and even rain glass... sideways
