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DIY Scientists Hack the Software of Life
Current Hardcover
April 2011
On Sale: April 14, 2011
256 pages
ISBN: 1617230022
EAN: 9781617230028
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
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.
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