Biopunk: DIY Scientists Hack the Software of Life [Hardcover]

Marcus Wohlsen (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 14, 2011 | ISBN-10: 1617230022 | ISBN-13: 978-1617230028 | Edition: 1ST

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Biopunks, as defined by AP science and technology reporter Wohlsen, are part of a loosely knit, multifaceted movement to find ways to permit people to engage in DNA research without the restrictions and costs imposed by the scientific and medical establishment. Practitioners, some self-taught, set up shop in their kitchens or garages, believing that significant biological advances are more likely to occur as more people get involved in the enterprise. For the most part opposed to intellectual property rights, they prefer the open-source model used to design some computer software. Although biopunks have not yet made any significant scientific advances, they view themselves as "simplifying and domesticating" biology. Though his prose is a bit dry, Wohlsen introduces some fascinating, altruistic individuals, people who would like to fight disease without profit as their primary motive. While Wohlsen conveys, and seems to share, their excitement, he provides little critical commentary on their prospects for success. He also splits his attention between true DIYers and others who are working outside the scientific establishment because they haven't been able to find jobs or funding. Similarly, modest sections on bioterrorism and potentially dangerous experiments in genetic engineering seem largely unconnected to his main focus. (Apr.)
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Review

Wohlsen discovers that biohackers, like the open-source programmers and software hackers who came before, are united by a profound idealism. ... He offers few opinions of his own but raises the questions we need to begin asking. -Technology Review

"His fascinating profiles of biohackers reveal how they embody some of the great contradictions of our modern age: our fear of and desire for power over the stuff of life." -Carl Zimmer, author of A Planet of Viruses

The rise of (biohackers) is entertainingly documented in a new book by science writer Marcus Wohlsen, Biopunk, which describes the parallels between today's generation of biological innovators and the rise of computer software pioneers. -The Guardian

Biopunk will be essential reading for anyone interested in the convergence of open source and biotechnology. -OStatic

Provides a reliable point of departure for navigating this contentious new terrain, and ultimately presents biohacking as a playful approach to science that renders science a playful approach to life. -New Scientist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Current Hardcover; 1ST edition (April 14, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1617230022
• ISBN-13: 978-1617230028
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.9 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #595,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I cover the business of technology as a staff writer for Wired Business, the business section of Wired.com. Before I joined Wired, I worked as a reporter in the San Francisco bureau of The Associated Press. I'm especially interested in stories about the democratization of technology and the power of networked knowledge. I also like to write about what happens when Silicon Valley's idealistic innovation culture collides with the world the rest of us inhabit.

"Biopunk: DIY Scientists Hack the Software of Life" recounts my deep dive into the world of DIY DNA. My adventure took me from open-source software to bioterror to the quest to build new forms of life piece by genetic piece. At least as intriguing to me as the biology was the drive of these young scientists to forge new ways of thinking about how change and discovery happen in science, and about who gets to decide the way forward. Even after several years in the Bay Area, I had still thought of "innovation" and "entrepreneurship" as code words for "let's make lots of money." In the mouths of many, they still are. Among the biopunks, I discovered a community of idealists who believed that that entrepreneurial thinking joined with a desire for authentic innovation could be a strategy for dramatic social change.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great raw material but could have been organized and written better June 2, 2011

By wimufi

Format:Hardcover

For a full-length review, please see my blog entry on the 5AM Solutions web site. Excerpts:

"I was excited to read this book since I am very interested in bioinformatics and punk (although the book has nothing to do with punk music). Although I wouldn't call myself a practitioner of do-it-yourself (DIY) biology, I do work for a very entrepreneurial bioinformatics and software company. The general theme of Biopunk by Marcus Wohlsen, is that we are arguably reaching a point in biotechnology similar to where computing technology was in the 1970's. That is, where the germ of successful companies can grow out of innovations by a handful of people working on a shoestring in garages and basements. Think about Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak starting Apple in their garage, or Bill Gates and Paul Allen starting Microsoft while barely 20 years old. The point, echoed by many of the people who show up in the book, is that until recently biotechnological innovation has been only accessible to scientists at commercial companies or in academic labs.

Biopunk has tons of good raw material and no end of interesting stories (bridges made of trees, a lab engineering bacteria to produce malaria medicine, etc.) but not all of them seem relevant to the main thrust of the book (that malaria lab is a commercial ones, not DIY). If Wohlsen had expanded his book to cover more territory and taken more care to weave these stories together, it could have been a powerful summary of current trends and future predictions in biotechnology."

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Science at the Kitchen Table April 16, 2011

By Rachel Berbiglia

Format:Hardcover

This is a great book for anyone who has an interest in science, or wants to see advances in medicine at greater rates that we've seen them so far. You don't have to know science to read this book. It is written so that people with no scientific background can understand the science. If you've got a teenager with an interest in science, you should have them read this book. It will inspire them to broaden their horizons beyond the typical research lab.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous Introduction April 15, 2011

By Shlok Vaidya VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

A tremendous introduction to one of the most exciting branches of individual superempowerment emerging today. The book is structured around the key figures in this movement today, and tells their stories quite well. It's not an exhaustive academic tome and doesn't try to be (appropriately so). I started out pretty familiar with this subject matter (having done much of the same research myself, including interacting with some of the people in the book), but learned a few things and `met' some very interesting people along the way.

Marcus Wohlsen does a great job laying out the contours of the movement. You get the culture, the philosophy they build on, the historical backing for their work, where they currently stand (without some major leaps, there's not a big chance of anyone solving cancer in their home wetlab) and where they're possibly headed. He also addresses the security threat (of course there is one, but the problem is social deviants, not these DIY garage hackers of living things).

Overall, it becomes clear that the most interesting times for biopunk are ahead. They're limited by a lack of cheap toolkits, good enough processes, funding, and knowledge. As they accomplish more over the coming years, they're going to have to deal with regulation and taking things to market. It's an interesting frontier and Wohlsen does this justice.