Bill Gates recently told Wired that if he were a teenager today, he
would be hacking biology. If you want to change the world in some big
way, he says, that's where you should start-biological molecules.
The most disruptive force on the planet resides in DNA. Biotech
companies and academic researchers are just beginning to unlock the
potential of piecing together life from scratch. Champions of synthetic
biology believe that turning genetic code into Lego-like blocks to build
never-before-seen organisms could solve the thorniest challenges in
medicine, energy, and environmental protection. But as the hackers who
cracked open the potential of the personal computer and the Internet
proved, the most revolutionary discoveries often emerge from
out-of-the-way places, forged by brilliant outsiders with few resources
besides boundless energy and great ideas.
In Biopunk, Marcus Wohlsen chronicles a growing community of DIY
scientists working outside the walls of corporations and universities
who are committed to democratizing DNA the way the Internet did
information. The biohacking movement, now in its early, heady days, aims
to unleash an outbreak of genetically modified innovation by making the
tools and techniques of biotechnology accessible to everyone. Borrowing
their idealism from the worlds of open-source software, artisinal food,
Internet startups, and the Peace Corps, biopunks are devoted advocates
for open-sourcing the basic code of life. They believe in the power of
individuals with access to DNA to solve the world's biggest problems.
You'll meet a new breed of hackers who aren't afraid to get their hands
wet, from entrepreneurs who aim to bring DNA-based medical tools to the
poorest of the poor to a curious tinkerer who believes a tub of yogurt
and a jellyfish gene could protect the world's food supply. These
biohackers include:
-A duo who started a cancer drug company in their kitchen
-A team who built an open-source DNA copy machine
-A woman who developed a genetic test in her apartment for a deadly
disease that had stricken her family
Along with the potential of citizen science to bring about disruptive
change, Wohlsen explores the risks of DIY bioterrorism, the possibility
of genetic engineering experiments gone awry, and whether the ability to
design life from scratch on a laptop might come sooner than we think.
