By Emily Chen-Newton Inside a lab at the University of Utah, Sydney Peterson inspects containers of fruit flies. As part of her doctoral research, the Paralympian is using fruit flies to test the effectiveness of different drugs on certain genetic movement disorders. Emily Chen-Newton hide caption SALT LAKE CITY — With the 2026 Winter Paralympics set to open Friday in Milan and Cortina, athletes are busy preparing for their Games. One such athlete is Sydney Peterson, a member of the U.S. Paralympic Ski Team. She is also working towards her PhD in neuroscience at the University of Utah — looking at movement disorders, similar to her condition. Peterson's days are a balancing act between the lab and her skis. Peterson, who began cross-country skiing at age five, has a neurological condition known as dystonia that causes involuntary muscle contractions in her left arm and leg. So typically, she skis with only one pole.…