What is Biohacking?
Biohacking is a type of human augmentation or enhancement process which simply describes itself as a type of do-it-yourself biology that aims to improve health, performance, and well-being by intentional interventions.
Meditation and intermittent fasting are two common biohacking practices that have been around since ancient times. Biohackers aim to remedy their defects and become superhuman by using a highly scientific approach to altering their own bodies.
Why Biohacking?
What motivates people to hack their bodies? The intentions of people are diverse and vary according to their choices. Some do it because they aren't feeling well and want to seek treatment outside of standard care. Others just use technology to test out new ideas and have complete control over their bodies. Some people use it in the hopes of slowing down the aging process and living indefinitely.
You will get to hear a lot of news about the implantation of chips inside the human brain nowadays. Elon Musk’s famous company Neuralink is going to conduct human trials for implanting chips on their brains. These chips tend to control people for conducting several tasks smoothly and without any hassle. Technological companies are taking this particular approach as this has been viewed as one of the futuristic business ideas out there in the current tech industry.
Types of Biohacking
- Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter and one of the world's most well-known and influential biohackers, advocates intermittent fasting, apparently eating only one meal per day and fasting totally once a week. Intermittent fasting is a low-tech biohacking technique for controlling blood sugar and maintaining a healthy weight.
- DIY Biology–DIY biology (or DIY bio) is a sort of biohacking led by persons with scientific backgrounds and experience. These biohackers give suggestions and approaches for non-experts who want to do organized tests on themselves outside of a controlled experimental environment, such as a lab or a doctor's office.
- Nutrigenomics–Some biohackers turn to their genes for dietary advice, a method known as nutrigenomics. Nutrigenomics firms can take your spit sample, analyze your DNA for specific genetic markers, and then provide you with a customized food plan.
- Another prevalent biohacking strategy is to use cold to burn fat. When it comes to losing weight, many biohackers believe that exposing the body to cold will help you burn fat faster, and some propose ice baths, cold showers, or even cryotherapy (a technique that uses nitrogen for cooling).
Extreme Biohacking
- Human Augmentation – Dietary changes, and cold baths aren't the only things that biohackers do. They use technology to augment their own bodies.
- Grinders– Grinders are a subclass of biohackers that make themselves into cyborgs by implanting magnets, chips, or computers beneath their skin. A person with an implanted chip in their hand, for example, may use a swipe of the wrist to open office doors or even pay for their daily expenses.
- You can also find biohackers, who in their pursuit of health and longevity push medical techniques to their limits. As part of his well-publicized ambition to live to 180 years old, Dave Asprey, inventor of the multimillion-dollar Bulletproof brand, had stem cells extracted from his bone marrow and injected into every joint in his body. He also visits a hyperbaric chamber on a daily basis, depriving his cells of oxygen in order to boost the function of his brain and muscle tissue and repair damage caused by the aging process.
- People who experiment with young blood transfusions and even inject themselves with genes modified with CRISPR technology are at the far end of the biohacking spectrum.
Biohacking vs Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a broad phrase that refers to the study of biological processes in order to improve technologically. Biotechnology has made its impact on varied things like - from producing beer utilizing bacterial strains to altering genes with CRISPR. It advances and introduces frequently influence biohacking experiments and vice versa. Well, many biohackers, therefore, rely on biotechnology progression for data and inspiration. Biotechnologists recurrently check the experiments of the biohacker that further helps them turn their study in the perfect direction.
Biohacking does not demand the utilization of biotechnology. Grinders are no doubt one of the the most active consumers of biotechnology biohacking community.
Is Biohacking Good?
While some of the most controversial biohacking approaches are getting a bad reputation, some of them can be uplifting. People interested in biohacking must do their homework and pick the technology and personal practices that will help them achieve their goals while minimizing risk and harm. The technological competition to assist biohackers in further optimizing their own bodies is far from over.
Is it Legal?
Existing laws were not designed to make sense of something like biohacking, which pushes the boundaries of what it means to be a human being in some circumstances. That means a lot of biohacking activities operate in a legal grey area, where they’re monitored by agencies like the FDA but aren't yet outright outlawed or enforced. Regulators are racing to catch up with biohackers as they venture into uncharted terrain.
The San Francisco-based business Ambrosia, which was well-known for delivering young blood transfusions, announced on its website that it had "ceased patient treatments" after the FDA issued its warning in February encouraging consumers to avoid them. "We are currently in contact with the FDA on the topic of young plasma," the site declared.
Pros and Cons of Biohacking
Some types of biohacking could be considered safe. Taking specific supplements or adopting dietary adjustments, for example, can be harmless. Some bodily modifications, such as RFID implants, may be safe if they are supervised by a medical expert.
Some biohacking techniques are dangerous or even illegal. Experiments that aren't considered safe or ethical in scientific facilities are sometimes the focus of DIY bio and grinder. Experimenting on humans, even if it's just on oneself, is still widely frowned upon and not taken up in a positive sense due to the unanticipated consequences or harm that can occur.
