Ubiquitous Biotech in a Time of Ignorance

By Ryan Bethencourt

The human body functions, with all of its flora and fauna, in magnificent ways that we are only now starting to understand. Human cells are outnumbered some three to 10 times by bacterial cells in and on our bodies. And its estimated that at least 11 percent of the human genome is viral in origin. We are the original genetically modified organisms.

Since the beginning of civilization humans have altered our environment and its biology to allow our civilization to thrivefrom domesticating plants and animals to building shelter and tools from living organisms.

And biology has recently found solutions we didnt imagine were possible, such as the recent discovery that plants chlorophyll molecules act at the quantum mechanical level to maximize energy harvested from the sun. Yet, when it comes to understanding biotechnology innovations, the general public is sadly misinformed about the science. Unfounded fears have prompted the European Union to placed stringent controls on the use and growth of GMO crops, and many EU countries require permits to do basic molecular biology and genetic engineering.

(Image via Shutterstock)

In the U.S., weve had a surge of anti-vaccine sentiment (which apparently led to the recent outbreak of measles in Disneyland). And a recent poll found that more than 80 percent of people believe that GMO foods as well as foods containing DNA should be labeled, revealing profound ignorance of basic science.

In parallel, however, another more promising story is emerging. Life scientists, emboldened by digitization, machine learning, and robotics, are blazing a faster path towards innovation.

Biohackers, toiling in obscurity for nearly a decade are now finding commercial success with efforts such as Open qPCR, Afineur, Hyacinth Bio, OpenTrons, Glowing Plants, and uBiome. DIY bio labs have popped up in New York, Silicon Valley, Berkeley, Seattle, Los Angeles, Sydney, Paris, and elsewhere.

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Ubiquitous Biotech in a Time of Ignorance