What is biohacking and why should we care?

What is biohacking? Biohacking can be described as citizen or do-it-yourself biology. For many “biohackers,” this consists of making small, incremental diet or lifestyle changes to make small improvements in your health and well-being. Biohacks promise anything from quick weight loss to enhanced brain function. But the best biohacking results come from being well-informed and cautious about what works for your body.

What are the different types of biohacking? Biohacking comes in many forms. The three most popular types are nutrigenomics, DIY biology, and grinder.

1 . Nutrigenomics Nutrigenomics focuses on how the food you eat interacts with your genes. This popular, although controversial, type of biohacking is founded on the idea that your body’s total genetic expression can be mapped out and optimized by testing how different nutrients affect your healthTrusted Source over time. Nutrigenomics also looks at how different nutrients affect how you feel, think, and behave. 2. DIY biology

DIY biology (or DIY bio) is a type of biohacking spearheaded by people with education and experience in scientific fields. These biohackers share tips and techniques to help non-experts conduct structured experiments on themselves outside of a controlled experimental environment, like labs or medical offices. Do it yourself biology is catching up fire in recent times where costs of medical and biotechnology devices are going sky high including the reagents and chemical compounds that are being used in lot of experiments . 3. Grinder

Grinder is a biohacking subculture that sees every part of the human body as hack-able. In general, grinders seek to become “cyborgs” by optimizing their bodies with a combination of gadgets, chemical injections, implants, and anything else they can put into their body to make it work the way they want it to. Grinder is kind of stuff we also deal to in our prosthetic section we are working on to make the movements possible for amputees Does biohacking work? Well there are many contradictions that weather biohacking work or not but for now all we can say that ' yes ' there are many examples that have worked many health experts do suggest to biohacking to get maximum results on your body

Nutrigenomics

may “hack” your biology in several ways, such as:

• decreasing your risk of developing a diseaseTrusted Source that you’re genetically predisposed to

• helping you achieve physical, mental, or emotional changes, such as losing weight or reducing depression symptomsTrusted Source

• helping optimize a bodily function, such as your blood pressureTrusted Source or gut bacteriaTrusted Source

Food does impact your genes. But not everyone’s bodies respond in the same way to changes in diet or habits. having different type of food also effects differently on each and every person like vegetarians have a different type of body build and their blood composition will be different from meat eater , a more meat consumption increases the thickness of the blood and also slows the metabolism defined in various researches and mix eaters have different type of blood composition and mineral and ions in that person's body will be more balanced depending on movement on metabolism of the body and type of work that person do . A 2015 review of current nutrigenomics research suggests that minor gene expression changes are only one piece of the larger puzzle. Other factors like exercise, stress levels, and weight all play a role in your body’s response to food. Do DIY bio and grinder biohacking work?

There are numerous examples of DIY bio and grinder experiments that have resulted in their intended outcomes. A 2015 Gizmodo piece profiled a man who injected a chemical compound called Chlorin e6 into his eyes to give himself night vision. It worked — sort of. The man was able to make out people moving in the dark of night in the woods. This is because Chlorin e6 temporarily alters molecules in your eyes known as photosensitive. This makes cells in your eyes more receptive to light. But as with any experiment on or modification of the human body, there can be dangerous or fatal consequences. DIY bio also can be tricky if you’re not trained. A 2017 piece in the UC Davis Law Review warned that exposure to harmful biological agents could cause health problems or break international bioterrorism laws. The grinder ethic can be especially dangerous. A 2018 New York Times piece covered grinders who inserted RFID chips in their bodies to access secure areas in hospitals or put sound-enhancing magnets in their ears to have “built-in” headphones. This may sound very futuristic, but implanting foreign objects into your body can expose you to inflammatory reactions that can cause chronic infections. It may also increase your risk of developing cancer. Is biohacking safe?

Some forms of biohacking may be safe. For example, taking certain supplements or making changes to your diet can be safe. Even some body mods, like RFID implants, may be safe when overseen by a medical professional. Some biohacking methodologies border on the unsafe or even illegal. DIY bio and grinder sometimes center around experiments that aren’t considered safe or ethical in research facilities. Experimenting on humans, even if it’s just on yourself, is still generally considered a big tabooTrusted Source in biology because of the unintended consequences or harm that can result. A 2017 report from the Brookings Institute cautions that biohacking simultaneously makes science available to everyone while also introducing countless new safety concerns. Understanding the long-term consequences of altering genes or experimenting in other ways on humans can be difficult without traditional, controlled experimentation.