The Strange World of Biohacking
In a slight departure from regular programming, today at Acer Corner we’re stepping into the world of biohacking. Before we begin, please note that biohacking is not a newfangled method used by cyber criminals to biologically hack into your computer and steal your credit card info.
A life hack for the body, biohacking is DIY biology: an effort at human enhancement via science and technology to make the body function better and more efficiently. Motivations for hacking one’s biology may come from the desire to take control of physical or mental health, prolong or even eternalize life, fix common human flaws, or simply try out something new.
Encompassing everything from diet and lifestyle changes to implants and body modifications, biohacking is still a niche field and new methods are constantly popping up around the globe. Curious? If so, read on to get the low down on biohacking. We’ll also learn about some famous biohackers, as well as the pros, cons and ethical considerations of the biohack for the modern day he/she/they. Let’s get hacking!
What is biohacking?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines biohacking as:
“Biological experimentation (as by gene editing or the use of drugs or implants) done to improve the qualities or capabilities of living organisms especially by individuals and groups working outside a traditional medical or scientific research environment.”
If you search for “biohacking” online, you’ll likely reel in a world of weird and possibly wonderful results. Before we get into popular modern-day biohacking practices, let’s take a quick look at its origins.
A citizen science movement operating with the goal of democratizing science through open source principles, accessible labs and collaboration, biohacking and the DIY biology (DIYbio) movement has been around since the late 80s. DIYbio practitioners experiment with genetics and biology to create affordable lab equipment like PCR machines as well as biohacked organisms, and even DIY medical solutions.
Gaining momentum in the early 2000s, biohacking entered the periphery of the mainstream in the 2010s as people began experimenting with different forms of biohacking. The umbrella term biohacking covers the whole gamut of hacks aimed at improving human performance and longevity, from fish oil supplements and intermittent fasting to gene editing and blood plasma transfusions.
Biohacking: the good, the bad, and the experimental
Chances are you already know a biohacker. In this next section we’ll cover several biohacking practices, along with their goals and any notable individuals associated with them.
Wearable tech
Good old fashioned wrist watches were quite possibly the world’s first, unwitting biohacking technology. Modern day wearers of smartwatches and fitness tracking-bands are considered biohackers, as these devices employ technology to assist users’ quest for better health and performance. These ubiquitous devices help people to track many aspects of their health from sleep time to blood oxygen levels and heart rate.
Wearable devices provide users with data that only a few years ago would have required specialist medical equipment. The benefits are many: from basic functions like activity tracking and attaining exercise and fitness goals, to providing reminders to take meds, and even tracking menstrual cycles.
Grinders: embedded tech
The natural evolution from wearable tech, embedded tech refers to implants under the skin for health enhancement, increased productivity, and other cosmetic purposes. While pacemakers, bionic joints and even hearing aids have been around for decades, RFID (radio frequency identification) chips have been getting under peoples’ skin for the past decade, or so. Especially popular in Sweden, these rice-grain sized microchips facilitate contactless payment and door unlocking and can also be used to store medical and personal info as well as collect biological functioning, health and fitness data.
Intermittent fasting
Many of us couldn’t imagine skipping our morning coffee or tea and then toast, or cereal to start the day. Referred to as IF among those in the know, intermittent fasting (not eating for some time each day or week) is a dietary lifestyle made famous by famous people. IF proponents claim it strengthens the body’s resistance to disease, boosts brain power and even repairs the body at a cellular level resulting in longer lifespans.
Popular celeb tested IF methods include the 16:8 method. As practiced by Wolverine lookalike Hugh Jackman, 16:8 requires a 16 hour overnight fast, with an 8-hour normal eating window during the day. 5:2 is another IF approach favored by late-night funnyman Jimmy Kimmel. This approach involves regular calorie intake 5 days of the week, cutting down to 500-600 calories for 2 days.
Nutrigenomics
Yes, you guessed it, nutrigenomics is the meeting of nutrition and genomics. Diet trends come and go, but how about learning how your DNA dictates the foods that suit you, and the ones you should avoid? Nutrigenomics explores how the food you eat interacts with your genes and how your genes affect your response to different foods. This approach requires analysis of a DNA sample, followed by the creation of an optimized nutrition plan. Nutrigenomics is a tailored nutritional path using diet to improve health, slow aging and metabolism and even prevent chronic diseases.
Health, but at what cost?
Chances are we’ll never know if Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards underwent a full-body blood transfusion for the sake of sobriety and longevity. But we do know for sure that tech mogul biohacker Brian Johnson’s regime to stay forever young has included infusing himself with his teenage son’s blood plasma. How far you decide to take biohacking is up to you!
While there’s clearly two sides to every coin, different approaches to biohacking come with different benefits and risks. Biohacking has the potential to help people customize their lifestyles, routines and diets which has the potential to improve health and well being, delivering enhanced performance.
Clearly for most of us the benefits of a wearable health monitor far outweigh the potential for data breaches. Similarly, an increase in Omega-3 isn’t likely to upset your body or mind too much. When it comes to introducing unregulated substances or even technologies into the body, however, there is clearly an elevated set of risks.
Biohacking raises a hospital car park’s worth of ethical concerns, from unforeseen health risks, to privacy and informed consent. We’ll leave the ethics up to you. Do bear in mind however that unregulated biohacking methods without safety oversight may be dangerous, and we don’t encourage you to try these at home, especially without consulting a medical professional.
The future, in synopsis
Before we reach the end of our voyage into the strange world of biohacking, let’s look to the future. In terms of wearable and embedded technology, expect smaller, more powerful devices, most likely with an increasing movement towards AI integration. In the near future, personalized health optimization looks poised to reach new heights, combining increasingly extreme lifestyles, exercise regimes, supplements, and fasting. Further down the line, brain-computer interfaces and prosthetics may eventually restore lost functions and augment natural abilities, taking humans into the realm of cyborg technology. Good luck!
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Edmund is an English copywriter based in New Taipei City, Taiwan. He is a widely published writer and translator with two decades of experience in the field of bridging linguistic and cultural gaps between Chinese and English.
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