under your skin
Body art studio, London, UK.
- What is Biohacking? -
Biohacking is an international movement that manifest in different brunches of exploration. The main two are: biological and technological.
We emphasises on the technological kind. Where electronic microchips implants are injected under the skin, usually in the palm of a persons hand (while their are many other areas as well). The microchips technology varies, however there are two basic kinds, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) or NFC (Near-Field Communication).
RFID
click for explanation
RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) is wireless identification of objects using radio waves. RFID chips that are currently implantable are made up of a non-powered transponder and an antenna that uses power from an RFID reader to operate. This type of RFID that relies on a reader for power is referred as passive, and has a very short range of between near-contact to a few millimeters." (biohackinfo.com)
NFC
click for explanation
"NFC (Near-field Communication)
is a type of RFID with a slightly higher frequency (13.56MHz) than a regular passive RFID tag. It has specific standards and protocols set up and owned by the NFC Forum that allow for it to function both as a tag and a reader – a feature most used for peer-to-peer communication for secure data exchange between devices like NFC-capable smartphones. In this regard, NFC is more IoT (Internet Of Things)- adaptable than regular passive RFID, more so as NFC-capable devices will use other associated tech like bluetooth and WiFi to facilitate two-way information sharing." (biohackinfo.com)
About Biohacking
The early stages of Biohacing seemes to take shape along side other DIY approaches to technology and the body as well as the makers culture as a whole that manifested in the embodiment of Biohackers as a separated subculture.
There is a dispute among Biohakers if this practice should remain in realm of private people rooted in the DIY tradition, tweaking and trying things at home or it should go for more professional settings, e.g tattoo and piercing facilities (yup, just like us), body modification artist or a (willing, cause they never do) medical facility.
The story of Dangerous Things, founded by Amal Graafstra, one of the core figures in the Biohacking community, is one way to see the progression of this subculture. From the privacy of people homes using whatever available equipment people could put their hands on, to a "kit" that one could order online and fit by themselves, with detailed guidance supplied in the website and ample amount of information online from the growing community. later on Dangerous Things start to reach out to tattoo and piercing studios to offer a safer practice for the community. Nowadays, according to my findings the majority for Biohackers fit their implants in a professional setting.
"Evolution itself is evolving[...]The classical definition of evolution is made up of two factors – mutation and selection. Mutation being the randomness we get when genes replicate. [...]The other half of evolution is selection. Whether artificial or natural, selection is selection… the end result is the same. What’s interesting about selection is, we’ve been opting out of selective processes one by one. With the advent of medical science and improved technology, we are successfully resolving diseases that would have killed new born babies and elderly alike. We’re able to fix the result of genetic diseases – heart valve defects and other lethal conditions are now able to be repaired. Thanks to science and technology, those people are now able to live their lives… but can we also influence the mutation end of the evolutionary machinery? Perhaps, dare we suggest, intelligently design humanity’s future?" (Amal Graafstra, founder and CEO of Dangerous Things