Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics

It was a serious illness that forced me to leave behind an emerging career as an academic scientist. I became a shut-in; unable to spend time away from the house, yet I needed an outlet for my intense curiosity and creativity. This was the original impetus for setting up a laboratory in the laundry room next to my bedroom in 2009. Soon after, I discovered the growing international biohacking community—present on email lists, meetups, and online forums—and began connecting with colleagues as well as aiding in the formation of new community laboratories for other biohackers.

I prefer to use the term “biohacking” or “independent research,” rather than “citizen science,” as they are conducted in different ways. “Citizen science” is typically research initiated, coordinated, and funded by a researcher, or network of researchers, based in an institution and seeking the assistance of the public for data gathering or distributed analysis. Biohacking, or independent research, is initiated by a private individual who relies on their own resources and initiative to conduct their scientific enquiry. In my story, biohacking refers to those activities where the layperson employs a mixture of lo-fi and hi-tech tools within the confines of a private residence or shared hackspace to pursue research of their own volition and interest within the scope of biotechnology.

In my mind, to embrace biohacking is to accept this first principle: that we all possess an intrinsic drive for discovery and exploration. Certainly, there are a few who wish to devote themselves professionally to the pursuit of a narrow course of inquiry in great depth and are fortunate enough to find academic positions that can provide adequate support for their research. There remain precious few such funded positions available, and yet so many of us remain voraciously curious and seek a means through which we can continue to contribute toward the long arc of emerging scientific knowledge.

Contemporary biohacking possesses deep roots in the history of science, particularly those practices that pre-date formalized research within the walls of institutions and government-funded research. The concept of biohacking—of utilizing the tools of biotechnology outside of the purview of commerce or academia—emerged once individuals with sufficient knowledge of the techniques were able to procure the requisite equipment and reagents from myriad sources. Building upon the competencies and praxes of their infosec hacker predecessors— indeed, with some overlap within their ranks—the sophistication and impact of biohacking has developed in concordance with the (a) decreased price and increased availability of common reagents and equipment, along with the (b) rapid and open dissemination of scientific knowledge.

My own home laboratories—I have set up more than one as well as aided in the start-up of more than one community biolab—were constructed with an amalgamation of equipment purchased new [End Page 33] from China, second hand on LabX, or donated to me by colleagues at hospitals and academic labs who simply had no use for equipment no longer covered by warranty. I have constructed ad hoc laboratory spaces in my bathroom, my laundry room, my garage, even out of the back of my Landcruiser. So long as the space in question has a sufficient level of ventilation, containment, power, and plumbing for the experiments planned, I would make use of any space available to move the research forward.

There are still concerns, both within the biohacking community and without, that a lack of oversight will lead to increasingly (unnecessarily) dangerous acts by individual hackers. Indeed, this is worthy of debate and has been repeatedly provoked by a few individuals who have sought media attention for their own personal gain, through the use of spectacle, while calling themselves biohackers. Thankfully, we have longstanding historical precedent in the work of scientists working from home labs—performing effective, impactful research outside of academic institutions and in a wide variety of spaces—as a counterbalance.

Members of the biohacking community, on the main, have been proactive in forming open channels of dialogue with their local and federal regulatory bodies. In each country in which I have operated, I have sought out the leadership of...