Bio & Agri Zero¶
Nuria took us on a journey of biological scale and complex systems, building a strong basis of scientific understanding of the universe. In alliance with critical thinking and the scientific method, we have constructed the necessary pillars to kickstart biohacking the world.
This week was filled with information (heavy) but it leveled the plane when it comes to the biological knowledge of the group. Because the interventions were information dense I will highlight those that opened paths to other interesting research topics.
1 - Life on Earth
Life is carbon-based. The first major transition was the leap from the molecular scale to the microbiology scale, this scaling up continues to form complex systems and communication networks until it took us into the realm of cultural evolution (designers normally operate here). At this point, Homo sapiens have been the most prominent agents of change on the Earth’s surface, making our way into the name of the Epoch: Anthropocene.
1.1 - After the trigger of “Life on Earth”
Complex systems were introduced by Nuria through Aristotle’s quote: “The whole is more than the sum of its parts”. A few days before this class, Paige (one of our colleagues) recommended me an Invisibilia podcast episode about biological scales and it adds a new branch to this idea of complex systems, that as a self-proclaimed cross-pollinator, can be very helpful in developing new approaches to design.
The image represents side by side a scale in meters and the respective areas of knowledge. These worlds are all connected and full of opportunities they are just operating on different scales. (Image source: https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/science-linguistics)
“Even though these systems are so different they exhibit essentially the same set of scaling laws.”
Humans are great at intra-specific design, in reality, is a design bias - the human perspective - so understanding non-human systems takes us out of a comfort bubble. We have been operating only at our scale excluding access to other forms of life. Being aware that we are operating on different scales, might just be the first step. That is where empathy and inter-species collaboration comes in.
2 - Synthetic Biology
Synthetic Biology definition: field of research in which the main objective is to create fully operational biological systems from the smallest constituent parts possible, including DNA, proteins, and other organic molecules. Synthetic biology incorporates many different scientific techniques and approaches. The synthetic systems created may be used to generate products ranging from ethanol and drugs to complete synthetic organisms such as complex bacteria that can digest and neutralize toxic chemicals. Ideally, these customized synthetic biological systems and organisms would be much safer and less complicated than approaches based on the manipulation of naturally occurring biological entities. Synthetic systems and organisms would essentially operate like biological “factories” or “computers.” (in https://www.britannica.com/science/synthetic-biology)
If we got here, as Sir Isaac Newton, once said, “it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
The image represents a timeline/cornogram depicting the key events in the history of genomics.
3 - Bioethics
“If possessing a higher degree of intelligence does not entitle one human to use another for his or her own ends, how can it entitle humans to exploit non-humans?” - Peter Singer, Animal Liberation
Living in the Anthropocene means that every action Humanity makes has a structural consequence on the environment. Climate change is the consequence of intentional and unintentional actions based on industrial, mechanical, and capitalistic mindsets. In 2021, there were 60 million climate refugees. Yet, not only are we the agents of change for the Earth’s landscape, but humans are also molding the scriptures of life on Earth. DNA editing technology is so advanced that we can edit genetic information, and consequently manipulate the manifestation of those genes (phenotypes). This was the most polemic discussion of the week.
3.1 - After the trigger of “Bioethics”
Biology has a very long history of justifying racial inequality to “prove” white biological superiority, corroborating the exploitation of black, brown and indigenous people. These are systems that still operate today, after all, it is a field created by humans who have biases. Yet, it is very rarely addressed. Isn’t that a Bioethics issue as well? Isn’t that something scientific institutions profit from? Shouldn’t we guarantee the protection of indigenous knowledge holder rights and tools ownership?