Testing for blood doping could now take place over a longer period of time, in time for next year's Tokyo Olympics. According to The Guardian, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach announced the news Tuesday at the World Congress on Doping in Sport in Katowice, Poland.

Current tests that detect traces of blood-increasing erythropoietin (EPO) products can only detect traces for a few hours after injection; EPO is also produced naturally in the human body, so the tests rely on changes in the drug in the body after injection.

Many sports have gone further and introduced the Biological Passport. The Biological Passport is a method of measuring changes in blood values over time to determine if EPO use or blood transfusions are suspected.

However, this new test looks for a "molecular signature" at the genetic level that persists for months after blood doping.

"Now that genetic sequencing research is well underway, this new approach could be a breakthrough method to detect blood doping weeks or even months after it has taken place," Bach told the conference. [If approved by the World Anti-Doping Agency, such a genetic test could be used at the Tokyo Olympics. Such a new method would again strengthen deterrence. We want to make sure that cheaters never feel safe, anytime, anywhere."

The new test looks for changes in the expression of various genes in the body that are specifically altered by the use of blood-enhancing drugs or blood transfusions. yannis Pitsiradis, a member of the IOC's Medical and Scientific Commission, and many other researchers are "omics" type doping tests.

Bach said that even if the tests are not completed in time for Tokyo, the IOC will hold more samples so that retroactive testing can be done when the tests are verified.

"This means that the pre-Games inspection program will be the most extensive to date, aimed at maximizing both detection and deterrence," Bach said.

The IOC last hosted the 2016 Rio Summer Games, where a Russian doping scandal led to the exclusion of many of the country's athletes from competition. Outgoing WADA President Craig Reedy acknowledged that "it is clear that there have been times when elements within the system have failed to meet expectations," and called state-sponsored doping "the worst case of systemic failure in the history of the anti-doping movement as a whole, if not in my presidency."

"The facts exposed by the WADA-led investigation of Richard Pound and Richard McLaren have forced a sea change in attitudes around the world. The unprecedented level of misconduct identified has left the sporting world in no doubt about the magnitude of the task facing WADA and has reminded all parties of the importance of sports integrity."

Operation Adelas earlier this year investigated Georg Preidler and Stefan Denifl of Austria, Kristijan Koren and Borut Bozic of Slovenia, Kristijan Duracek of Croatia, and former racer Alessandro Petacchi were later expelled, showing the cycling community that blood doping is still practiced at the highest levels.

A study by Danish researchers found that reinjecting just 135 milliliters of one's own blood can improve performance by 5%.

The UCI has said it is considering hiring an international testing agency for its anti-doping efforts. Meanwhile, its independent agency, the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation, said such a move could reduce the amount of anti-doping resources available to cycling.