European do‐it‐yourself (DIY) biology: Beyond the hope, hype and horror

AbstractThis paper describes the activities of amateur plant breeders and their application of various methods and technologies derived from genetics research over the course of the twentieth century. These ranged from selection and hybridization to more interventionist approaches such as radiation treatment to induce genetic mutations and chemical manipulation of chromosomes. I argue that these activities share characteristics with twenty-first-century do-it-yourself (DIY) biology (a recent upswing in amateur experimental biology) as well as other amateur science and technology of the twentieth century. The characterization of amateur plant breeding as amateur experimental biology offers a corrective to a dominant narrative within the history of biology, in which the turn to experimental research in the early twentieth century is thought to have served as an obvious dividing line between amateur and professional activities. Considered alongside other better-known amateur efforts, it also suggests that we might gain something by taking a more unified approach to the study of amateur science and technology.

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If you want something doing, do it yourself

The Biochemist ◽

10.1042/bio03905042 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 39 (5) ◽

pp. 42-45 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

James Brown

Keyword(s):

Citizen Science ◽

Collaborative Research ◽

Panel Discussion ◽

Research Projects ◽

Do It Yourself ◽

Diy Biology

The Biochemical Society's panel discussion event, DIY Biology, explored the possibilities for citizen science and collaborative research projects.

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Valuating Practices, Principles and Products in DIY Biology

Valuation Studies ◽

10.3384/vs.2001-5992.2020.7.1.101 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 101 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Morgan Meyer ◽

Rebecca Wilbanks

Keyword(s):

Public Good ◽

Case Studies ◽

Recent Work ◽

General Interest ◽

The Public ◽

Heterogeneous Processes ◽

Movement Building ◽

Do It Yourself ◽

Diy Biology ◽

Market Valuations

In this article, we study do-it-yourself (DIY) biology, by looking in particular at the different forms of valuation within the DIY biology movement. Building upon recent work in economic sociology and the study of valuation, we take as case studies different projects developed by DIY biologists. Our approach is attentive to the moments when these projects are valued, i.e. during competitions, investment pitches, and crowdfunding campaigns. The projects analyzed involve both market valuations (with investments, products and potential markets) and non-market valuations (be they social, ethical or cultural). Our key argument is that value is produced through distributed and heterogeneous processes: products, practices, principles and places are valued at the same time. We show that there is not only a valuation of technical and production aspects (well highlighted in the key literature on valuation), but also a valuation of social links and of specific forms of organization. Both are inseparable - it is neither the object nor the context in themselves that are valued, but the “good-within-the-context-of-its-making”: the production of vegan cheese or biological ink and the places and communities of DIY biology or future markets are valued. The valuation practices we examine aim at producing an interest in a threefold sense: a general interest (a public good), an interest for the public (its curiosity), and a monetary interest (by making people financially participate).

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Ethical Implications of Biohacking as Activism: Democratized Health Care, Danger, or What?

Aresty Rutgers Undergraduate Research Journal ◽

10.14713/arestyrurj.v1i3.170 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Julia Zheng

Keyword(s):

Health Risks ◽

Clinical Medicine ◽

Biomedical Ethics ◽

Potential Health ◽

Current Form ◽

Ethical Implications ◽

Low Costs ◽

Do It Yourself ◽

Diy Biology

Biohacking refers to optimizing one’s body through modifying biology. In the 20th century, do-it-yourself (DIY) biology emerged as a type of biohacking involving biotechnology. Current high- healthcare costs promote DIY -biology insulin and EpiPens as ways to challenge norms in healthcare, thus serving as forms of activism. Biohacked insulin is part of the #WeAreNotWaiting movement to support improved treatment of Type 1 diabetes, whereas biohacked EpiPens allow people to make lifesaving autoinjectors at low costs. Social media acts as a catalyst and aids in the spread of insulin and EpiPen biohacking as activism. In 1979, Principles of Biomedical Ethics by Beauchamp and Childress proposed four principles that continue to guide decision-making in clinical medicine: beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice. This paper applies these principles to explore whether the benefits of performing DIY biology outweigh the potential health risks. Examining biohacking with a biomedical ethics frame, as outlined by Beauchamp and Childress, reveals that biohacking acts as a response to current issues but cannot serve as a solution in its current form. However, biohacking can grant patients more power in their relationship with the healthcare system, therefore lessening the dominance of formal institutions. Out of the four principles, autonomy applies most differently when regarding biohacking than traditional medicine. Accordingly, a model of ethics for biohacking, such as of Beauchamp and Childress’ with the autonomy altered to acknowledge the additional implications of biohacking, should be developed in the future.

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Do It Yourself: Computerized Education in the Exam Room

Internal Medicine News ◽

10.1016/s1097-8690(06)74606-6 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 39 (23) ◽

pp. 46

Author(s):

MUKESH BHARGAVA

Keyword(s):

Exam Room ◽

Do It Yourself

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Einfluss von multimodaler sportlicher Aktivität auf Kognition und Alltagskompetenzen bei früher Alzheimer-Demenz (SPORT&KOG)

Zeitschrift für Gerontopsychologie & -psychiatrie ◽

10.1024/1011-6877.21.3.163 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 163-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J.C. Ennen ◽

B.W. Mueller ◽

M. Bibl ◽

H. Esselmann ◽

A. Rütten ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität ◽

Sportliche Aktivität ◽

Depressive Symptome ◽

Alzheimer Demenz ◽

Kognitive Entwicklung ◽

Do It Yourself ◽

Kognitive Leistung

Der vorliegende Bericht beschreibt ein vom Bundesministerium für Gesundheit gefördertes Vorhaben zum «Leuchtturmprojekt Demenz» im Themenfeld 1 «Therapie und Pflegemaßnahmen: Wirksamkeit unter Alltagsbedingungen». Hierbei handelt es sich um eine multizentrische randomisierte Interventionsstudie, die den Einfluss von Sport (multimodale sportliche Aktivität) unter kontrollierten Bedingungen auf die kognitive Entwicklung von Alzheimer-Patienten im frühen Stadium prüft. In einem zweiarmigen Design werden je 150 Patienten mit früher AD unter Verum- bzw. Kontroll-Bedingungen untersucht. Die Verum-Gruppe erhält ein spezifisches sportliches Trainingsprogramm. In der Kontrollgruppe werden lediglich Dehnungsübungen durchgeführt. Primäre Endpunkte der Studie sind die kognitive Leistung der Patienten sowie deren Alltagskompetenz im Verlauf. Die gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität der Patienten sowie etwaige Verhaltensstörungen und depressive Symptome werden als sekundäre Endpunkte erfasst. Darüber hinaus werden die Angehörigen zur krankheitsbezogenen Belastung befragt und auf depressive Symptome untersucht. Angelehnt an die Hypothesen der «Initiative Demenzversorgung in der Allgemeinmedizin» (IDA) sollen entsprechende nicht-medikamentöse Versorgungsangebote dazu beitragen, dass Patienten länger in ihrem gewohnten häuslichen Umfeld leben. Im Sinne der Nachhaltigkeit der zu erwartenden Ergebnisse wird ein «Do it yourself»-Manual erstellt, mit dem das Trainingsprogramm auch ohne professionelle Anleitung, z. B. im Rahmen von Selbsthilfegruppen durchgeführt werden kann. Die weitere Implementierung (z. B. in Internetforen und weiteren Medien) wird durch einen Beirat der lokalen Krankenkassen, Gesundheitsämter und der Deutschen Alzheimer-Gesellschaft unterstützt.

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