That kind of pain-free living almost made me forget how bad my knee used to be. But this year, something changed. At first, it was subtle-an ache under the kneecap, soreness along the outside of the joint. I figured it was overtraining. Then the pain grew sharper. After rides, the knee swelled up, and sometimes the back of the joint throbbed the next day.
Rafaella Rogatto De Faria was nearing the end of her PhD when her adviser proposed a fresh project. The idea was to analyse genetic, imaging and surgical-outcome data, to find biomarkers that could help to identify which people with osteoarthritis would respond best to knee-replacement surgery. De Faria, an athlete and a biomedical engineer at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, knew the profound impact of cartilage and joint injuries on people's lives,