# data[].attributes.body
I have chosen to write my research project on bio-hacking and it's effect/potential effects on the environment.

I watched a documentary about bio-hackers called "Unnatural Selection" and there was a lot of conversation among environmentalists and how they felt like it would not be advisable to bio hack nature and allow things to mutate in the environment. I am curious about the dangers of bio-hacking or how it may potentially help people. Bio-hacking is using DIY cybernetic devices to enhance your body.

# data[].attributes.body
Before we dive into the effects of biohacking, it is important to identify what it is. Biohacking is the practice of body modifications. People, usually scientists, improve and modify their body through means of technology. Their are many different types of bio-hacking, but the main form that will be focused on is DIY Bio-hacking. These are people who add technology based implants into themselves outside of a controlled environment. According to a Harvard Study, "The
self-experimentalist community is primarily interested in tracking their daily physical
and biochemical activities to build a library
of personal informatics in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle or improve body
performance." (Yetisen, 744)

# data[].attributes.body
There are three main types of bio-hacking:

Nutrigenomics, which is the least intrusive type, is hacking your body by consuming food to improve your bodily functions.

DIY Biology, which I will be focusing on here, is when people with experience in scientific fields conduct experiments on themselves to augment their body. This usually happens outside of a controlled space.

Then there are Grinders. These people try to hack every part of their body and are more likely to add some type of technology or cybernetic into their body.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Woman Implants Chip In Hand To Unlock Doors And Cupboards With No Keys!

# data[].attributes.body
Addressing 2 main questions:

Is bio-hacking ethical?
Can it potentially affect the environment?

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Bio-hacker implants himself with device to constantly check body temperature. (Yetisen, 746)

# data[].attributes.body
Bio-hacking has many different forms and people partake for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, because bio-hacking is a relatively new type of science, there is no clear definition for what it technically is or how to regulate it. Considering the initial question, without regulation there will always be inexperienced bio-hackers that could potentially cause harm to the environment. Surrounding environments and native species would be most at risk. However, the more immediate danger would be to oneself partaking in any type of biotechnology, gene therapy, or synthetic biology procedures without the proper safety and ethics training. Many countries around the world participate in DIY bio-hacking, so it is plausible to assume eventually it will be readily accessible to the general population.

# data[].attributes.body
Kolodziejczyk, B. (2017, October 9). Do-it-yourself biology shows safety risks of an open innovation movement. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2017/10/09/do-it-yourself-biology-shows-safety-risks-of-an-open-innovation-movement/

Royal Society of Biology. (n.d.). Focus On: Biohacking. The Biologist. https://www.rsb.org.uk/biologist-features/focus-on-biohacking

Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. (2015). Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity Part II: Gaps and Overlaps with the Provisions of the Convention and Other Agreements Part I: Potential Impacts of Synthetic Biology on Biological Diversity SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY. https://www.cbd.int/ts/cbd-ts-82-en.pdf

Yetisen, A. (2018). Science & Society Biohacking. In Trends in Biotechnology (pp. 744–748). https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/biohacking.pdf

Zettler, P. J., Guerrini, C. J., & Sherkow, J. S. (2019). Regulating genetic biohacking. Science, 365(6448), 34–36. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax3248

# data[].attributes.body
Because bio-hacking is technically any type of body modification or augmentation, it may not always be a bad thing. Upon researching how exactly this would affect the environment, I read that the FDA is able to regulate public human augmentation in more ways than I thought. This is when I came across CRISPR.

CRISPR is "gene-editing" and it works by altering genes already present in your DNA. However, some scientiss argue that there should be DIY CRISPR kits available to the public. Not only is this potentially dangerous for the environment, it would be impossible to regulate. As written in a science journal, "Genetic biohacking may also make it practically difficult for FDA to identify violations that do occur, especially when committed by individual experimenters or small-scale biohacking communities." (Zettler, et al., 34) Unfortunately, because CRISPR (and other similar hacks) are considered to be gene therapy, there is potentially a long way to go before this will be available to the public.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The ODIN's DIY Bacterial Gene Engineering CRISPR Kit - unboxing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How CRISPR/Cas-9 System Works. Why CRISPR is UNLIKE any other DNA editing tools ever discovered? The future of genetic engineering. This video and other related images/videos (in HD) are available for instant download licensing here : https://www.alilamedicalmedia.com/-/galleries/all-animations/cell-molecular-biology-genetics-videos Voice by: Sue Stern ©Alila Medical Media. All rights reserved.

# data[].attributes.body
Upon researching the legal analysis of human augmentation, I realized that legally (in the United States) there is no clear cut definition of what that entails. So, this led me to question how can something be researched if there is no conclusion on what it really is?