1. 10/8/15 23:05Biotechnology the next growth area for grassroots entrepreneurship? The Independent Singapore News
Page 1 of 3http://theindependent.sg/?p=7800
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Biotechnology the next growth area for grassroots
entrepreneurship?
The Independent has discussed the do-it- yourself (DIY) biology movement – the biohackers. Like self-
trained computer hackers, these hobbyists browse online catalogues of DNA parts and order them
from small commercial labs. But can it survive without facilities and support biohacking at this emergent
stage?
Using open source tools like open source PCR (polymerase chain reaction) machines, biohackers can
tweak bacteria or synthesise novel organisms, as applied synthetic biology projects. Biohacking is an
outcome of something called ‘synthetic genomics’, where customised DNA segments made in labs are
inserted into cells to reprogram them.
Process & Resources
DNA parts are stitched together to create whole genomes. Biohacking is the hobbyist version of such
attempts at performing synthetic genomics in a domestic environment. The commercial availability of
inexpensive synthetic DNA parts has enabled this nascent grassroots movement growing in Singapore.
The availability of online genomics databases and open source bioinformatics programs to tweak
genomics data allow for staggering possibilities. Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s
(MITs) BioBricks database of standardised biological parts explains how specific DNA segments are
related to specific biological functions, for instance.
Using such resources, biohackers can determine the specific DNA parts needed to reprogram
cells. They also utilise used lab equipment acquired online from Amazon, eBay and other online
sources, ranging from PCR thermocyclers that replicate DNA segment copies to Pyrex test tubes and
micropipettes.
Other online resources include knowledge repositories like openwetware.org, diybio.org and
dnahack.com which enable the dissemination of knowledge, projects and best practices to the wider
community, from novices all the way to seasoned biohacking experts.
Basic Projects
Many novices use squid genes in bioluminescence projects (e.g. make bacteria glow) due to its
simplicity. Others aim to make bacteria bioluminescent via melamine.
Another popular aim for reprogramming bacteria? The creation of biofuels, whether via algae or
microbes. Recently, Harvard University scientists managed to make use of DNA for biocomputing,
storing 700 terabytes on 1 gram of DNA.
With inexpensive DNA components and accurate databases, genes can be assembled precisely, rapidly
and accurately. It’s entirely plausible to design and develop a medium-sized viral genome in the span of
a few weeks. But what are some of the dangers posed by this biotech movement?
In 2002, US scientists reported in Science how they had stitched together DNA parts ordered online to
make a polio virus genome that could infect lab mice. In 2003, scientists took just two weeks to make
the infectious phiX174 bacteriophage, a type of virus. In 2005? The US Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention (US CDC) synthesised the 1918 Spanish flu virus using DNA parts purchased online.
More recently, in 2008 US scientists assembled Mycoplasma genitalium using synthetic DNA – a type of
organism larger than a virus. MIT estimates put the cost of assembly of the Ebola virus at US$8500
NEWS FEED BUSINESS POLITICS SOCIAL MEDIA LIFE LAW SPORTS SUBMIT ARTICLE
November 8th, 2014 | by The Independent
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2. 10/8/15 23:05Biotechnology the next growth area for grassroots entrepreneurship? The Independent Singapore News
Page 2 of 3http://theindependent.sg/?p=7800
(S$12,300), smallpox US$84,000, plague at US$2.1 million and anthrax at US$2.4 million.
Bioterrorism is a possible but extremely unlikely risk. If the DNA sequences ordered are dangerous,
commercial labs must scrutinise orders for large segments. If not? It’s business as usual. But to get
anything viable often requires expertise, resources and tools often unavailable to anyone but
postgraduate tertiary students.
However, hobbyists can order small DNA segments from multiple labs to escape detection, then
compile them to create deadly viruses. Another possibility is ordering key genes and inserting them into
a harmless related virus to turn it into a lethal pathogen. In the future, labs might have to get police
approval to ship specific segments in the future.
A Japanese doomsday cult called Aum Shinrikyo did attempt weaponising anthrax and Ebola. Currently,
there’s no international agency monitoring DNA order streams across labs. However, the EU has
initiated its Synbiosafe project to fill this gap. But bioterrorism from biohacking is a misleading
supposition, like financial fraud in Bitcoin.
Biohacker Focus
The focus of biohackers is not on publishable science but engineered solutions. Generally, engineers
solve problems by bricolage – experimenting with novel combinations of existing, interchangeable parts
to devise a solution to existing or potential problems.
A growing hobbyist community experimenting with different DNA combinations and sharing their
results online allows for the development of novel solutions to problems that large life science
businesses and governments aren’t interested in.
Many concepts are underfunded or receive minimal attention, due to traditional government sources
lacing the funding to invest in every good idea. Also, it’s generally too expensive to pursue every
possible biotech business idea. Many ideas with academic promise flounder because traditional
sources of investment are too conservative.
But often, the threat aspects is sensationalised by the media and played up. Licensing hobbyists,
providing hubs of community activity (e.g. Genspace) and monitoring their activities might be the best
way forward to promoting safe and ethical biohacking, as well as creating ways in which they can
interact with the life science ecosystem.
It leverages on Singapore’s strengths in the biotechnology field at a grassroots level. Y Combinator of
Silicon Valley is now experimenting with biotech venture, when it accepted five biotech companies out
of the 80 startups in its program earlier this year.
Another venture, funded by VC firm SOSVentures, is opening a biotech accelerator called IndieBio in the
US. The next wave of startup ventures may very well emerge from the biotech space, rather than the
traditional ICT route.
What may benefit the community here is the emergence of a community biology laboratory that all
biohackers, biotechnologist and other stakeholders can access, like Genspace in New York City.
Just as the establishment of Hackerspace.sg created a hub and served as a community
aggregator, heralding the emergence of more coworking spaces and served as a milestone in
Singapore’s startup ecosystem, the next step may lie in opening a bioware space.
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Tags: biology, biohackers, dna, biotech, biotechnology, community, synthetic, silicon
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3. 10/8/15 23:05Biotechnology the next growth area for grassroots entrepreneurship? The Independent Singapore News
Page 3 of 3http://theindependent.sg/?p=7800
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