This Biohacker BBQ Would Be Way Cooler With Less Red Tape
Students at the biohackathon. ​Image: Emiko Jozuka

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This Biohacker BBQ Would Be Way Cooler With Less Red Tape

At a UK biohackathon this week, hackers complained about the strict European regulations on synthetic biology.

​Biohackers in the US might have more freedom when it comes to tinkering with biology. But over in Europe, there's still a heap of red tape between a would-be biohacker and their next invention.

Toronto and London-based ​biotech startup Synbiota organised a BBQ biohackathon in Oxford this weekend to keep the conversation going about the potentials of citizen biohacking, and the opportunities that EU biohackers would gain from a relaxation in current regulations.

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"In Europe the laws are different from North America, where anyone can biohack in their garage. To do synthetic biology here, you need to have a licence from the government," Connor Dickie, CEO of Synbiota, told me. Such restrictions, he said, place EU biohackers at a disadvantage.

Connor Dickie. Image: Emiko Jozuka

"The law says that you can't do it, but the technology says you can."

Hundreds of amateur and professional biologists the world over are increasingly taking interest in the biohacker movement. Setting up makeshift laboratories in their homes or in hackspaces, the tribe of biohackers are made up of people keen to democratise science, or just curious to experiment with biology. "Hacking" in this sense refers to a playful and creative approach to biology. In the UK, creations by artists like Amy Congdon, who mashes up biotechnology with design and art to make materials such as tissue engineered te​xtiles, bear testimony to this playful spirit.

Garage biohackers in North America work with harmless, non-mammalian cells. Nonetheless, in the UK, even this level of tinkering requires a license: Both the unlicensed use of genetically-modified organisms, and the placing of the engineered DNA into another microorganism is prohibited. Obtaining a license for a hackspace is also costly and time-consuming.

Genetic engineering—a process of inserting new DNA into an organism—has been around since 1973, but has mostly been the preserve of big companies. But according to Dickie, tight rules in the EU could just push biohackers underground. "One of the risks of having restrictive laws is that it doesn't count for the fact that the law says that you can't do it, but the technology says you can. People will just keep biohacking and go underground. That's when it becomes more dangerous."

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Despite the setbacks, public hackathons exist to spark interest and kickstart debates. "We like to say that the best way to learn is to do," said Dickie, who pointed to the pipette-wielding crew of participants gathered around Synbiota's "Rainbow Factory" kit in a park in Oxford.

"They're growing their own microorganisms to express colour," said Dickie, who mentioned that a licence wasn't needed for this specific activity. "They can experiment and understand what effects their choices have on the resulting DNA."

What's important, Dickie said, is that these politicians have experience and knowledge of the technology they're regulating. "Otherwise, they could create laws that stifle innovation," he said, adding that biotech held such promises as bringing free medicine in the next ten years. "People are going to be able to download it from something like an internet-connected, DNA synthesizing, desktop bio-reactor."

The Synbiota team. Image: Emiko Jozuka

Tight regulations against genetic modification in the UK might aim to protect ci​tizens and the environment from adverse effects, but Dickie pointed out that in Africa, where there were fewer or no regulations, biohackers could potentially leapfrog everyone else. "Somebody in a garage in Africa could invent something, and it would be legal for them to deploy it," he exclaimed.

Thomas Folliard, a PhD student in biochemistry at Oxford, told me that in 30 to 40 years we should be aiming for trees that differentiate into houses, and bridges that build themselves. "If you take non-biologists and show them in an afternoon what ten years ago would've almost been a PhD, that demonstrates how quickly we are moving forward," he said.

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With the pace of innovation in the life scienc​es set to increase in the next decades, biotech accelerators such as IndieBio, based in San Francisco and Ireland, reveal just how seriously people are taking synthetic biology. The global synthetic biology market itself it is estimated to reach ​$10.8 billion by 2016, and in 2012, the UK invested up to £20 million in its synthetic biol​ogy research scene.

Student Bethan Wolfendon. Image: Emiko Jozuka

The stringent regulations in the EU require people to go through an induction, and understand what elements of biology are dangerous.

But for PhD student Bethan Wolfendon, the risks don't stem from Hollywood-style narratives of biocrime, but a lack of awareness of the basic risks. "Biohackers create their own media to grow their bacteria. One of the dangers of this is that you're growing a really nutrient-rich environment. If you take a swab of your own skin to see what's growing, there's the risk that the toxic bacteria that grow on your skin will really flourish in the rich medium. How do recognise whether a bacteria is harmful or not?" she said.

For Dickie and the people gathered at the BBQ Hackathon, the benefits of biotechnology far outweigh any potential dangers. The technology, he said, was here to stay, evolving quickly, and that's why it was key was key to encourage people to learn about it, and discuss the entirety of its applications and consequences.

"It's just like any other technology, like fire, like scissors," he said. "They all have a dual use, they illuminate and scorch. But the benefits far outweigh the problems."