Biohacking

Background

Ever grab a cup of coffee to improve your focus before a big meeting or take a hot bath to relax before bed? If so, you might be a biohacker.

Biohacking refers to a spectrum of behaviors and technology meant to improve one's health, quality of life, and life expectancy. Dave Asprey, often referred to as the "father of biohacking," defines biohacking as the "art and science of changing the environment around you and then inside of you, so you have full control of your own biology."

Breadth

The ends of the biohacking spectrum are connected by a DIY undercurrent that encourages biohackers to experiment with various modalities to find what works best for them. 

On one end of this spectrum exists what many might consider simple behavior modifications and tools, such as practicing good sleep hygiene, using caffeine, or getting shockwave therapy.

At the other end of the spectrum exists a wide range of fringe behavior and body modifications that aren't always backed by human clinical trials and sometimes push users into the realm of transhumanism (more on that later). 

Between these poles runs a gamut of intentions, with some using biohacking as a way to restore standard abilities and others trying to extend their lives or "reverse" aging. Some biohacks rely on technology, while others attempt to optimize the body's already existing systems and processes, such as through intermittent fasting and breathwork.

Technology

Bestowing new senses or abilities or enhancing existing ones by interweaving technology and biology is the bread and butter of transhumanism, a belief that seeks to use technology to move beyond the naturally occurring limits of the body and mind. 

This train of tech naturally leads to the concept of cyborgs, a portmanteau of cybernetics and organisms that refers to creatures whose abilities have been enhanced through technology.

The concept of cyborgs coalesced in the 1960s when the term was coined in an academic paper on space travel.

In that paper, authors Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline write that a fish couldn't readily live on land unless "a particularly intelligent fish could be found, who had studied a great deal of biochemistry and physiology, was a master engineer and cyberneticist, and had excellent lab facilities available to him, [then] this fish could conceivably have the ability to design an instrument which would allow him to live on land and breathe air quite readily"—thus the cyborg was born.

More study and technological advancements are required before the cyborg, as it appears in sci-fi, can be fully realized. At present, a subcategory of biohackers and citizen scientists, known as "grinders," continue to grind away at the heavy lift through experimental body modifications.