​Biohacking: Healthy Experiment or Potential Weapon?

There is increasing concern in the medical and scientific communities regarding a new form of hacking that tinkers with biology using available genetic and biological data. “Biohacking” is what some call a past-time, and others the future—a kind of citizen biology that seeks to experiment outside of the confines of the lab. This is made possible thanks to a growing number of wearable tracking devices measuring everything from our heartbeats to caloric intake, as well as libraries of genetic information available online.

There are two kinds of biohacking: One looks to experiment on the external biological world through genetic experiments: combining plant DNA, creating a genetic mutation, making a cell grow, and other forms of home-grown DNA manipulation. The other kind of biohacking involves self-experimentation, using wearable devices like the Apple Watch and Fitbit to analyze the effects of certain mental and physical enhancers and strict diets. Both kinds of biohacking ask to break down the traditional laboratory barriers of scientific exploration and to use the growing wealth of available medical data, personal and public, to experiment with new biological possibilities.

While it sounds exhilarating for anyone to be able to easily access rich biological exploration no matter their education or experience level, there are a number of ethical questions that biohacking raises. The first, of course, is that the biological information generated by an individual is personal and private to that individual. The minute biological data like genome sequences and blood test results become available on the Internet, they are open to others to access and manipulate at their will. Second, biology is typically conducted in a lab because valid scientific experiments need a controlled environment. While the self-biohacker experimenting with the Paleo diet might think that he is getting accurate results from his Fitbit monitor, there could be a number of other variables that he isn’t taking into account and are affecting his results. Last, and most important, are the implications of dangerously tinkering with nature—could such experiments create a viral deadly disease, or aggressive genetic mutations to be used as weapons?

The largest fear surrounding the development of biohacking is the sheer lack of control that authorities have on what is being produced. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States is one of the strongest medical authorities with the most stringent regulations. The FDA was created to protect the medical consumer against potential pariahs on the market, but biohacking seems to be putting the future of medical and health experiments into the hands of the citizens. While it’s good to encourage experimentation, the FDA and other relevant authorities should seek to regulate biohacking practices so that the future of the “sport” won’t veer dangerously off course.