This article was taken from the May 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
Biohackers are rare -- costs have kept genetic engineering in the realm of big pharma and university labs. But Ellen Jorgensen, a PhD molecular biologist, sees a tipping point: "You can sequence genes on a computer, email them to a lab and a week later, for $100 (£65), receive a vial of DNA," she says. "That's close to a revolution."
This near-revolution led Jorgensen and half a dozen other alt biologists to found Genspace, a public biohacking collective in Brooklyn, New York, to help fight ignorance about genetic technology. "People need to get their hands dirty," she says. "Imagine policy debates about computers if only a few guys in white coats had ever actually touched one."
Cue the anti-GMO (genetically modified organism) brigade -- and the security forces -- freaking out about a bioengineered future. "The technology is incredibly powerful," says Jorgensen. "But it's not inherently good or evil -- it's what you use it for." Escaping pathogens? "The bacteria we use is E. coli K-12, specifically designed for labs. It can't share DNA with other bacteria. It needs really precise conditions just to survive for ten minutes." Terrorists? "If you wanted to do something nefarious, a collective biolab is probably the last place you'd go. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are behind us. We're their front lines."
So is it a cool hobby or a mass movement? Genspace "clones" include BioCurious, in Silicon Valley, along with DIYbio MCR, at Manchester's otherwise mainly digital MadLab, partly supported by the Wellcome Trust. "This technology is not going back in the closet," she says. "DNA is in all of us and the things we eat, wear and build our houses from. I'd really like to see a debate, and I don't want it to be conducted out of ignorance and fear. It needs to be among people who understand the technology." Spencer Reiss