For those of you following the Floyd Landis doping scandal, or who are interested in how testing for anabolic steriods in sports is done, this is an interesting post on the chemistry behind the testing. Since testosterone is, well, kind of a natural guy thing, one might wonder how to differentiate normal human testosterone from administered synthetic testosterone in otherwise studly athletic males (testosterone is the “steroid” referred to which athletes use to enhance performance). Turns out we animals have been grabbing the light carbon isotopes for the past gadzillion years, leaving the poor plants (which are used as the basis of the synthetic testosterone) with the heavy stuff.
Who knew?
A little chemistry background helps understand the article a bit better, but the fellow’s good at ’splainin it for the non-chemist as well. An interesting read…(HT: Instapundit)
