Professor Warwick of the University of Reading, along with his colleagues in the study of cybernetics, wanted to show how easily a computer can interact with the biological systems of an individual.

In 1998, he inserted a chip into his hand that allowed him to track his movements, opened doors and even turned on a PC. Then he inserted the implant to his wife to know what she was doing.

The professor's actions inspired young scientists who began to move science by purchasing the necessary equipment. Thus, the biohacker association has released the first PCR amplifier. Research has given a chance to people who are not willing to put up with an incurable disease.

Today biohacking is seen as a means to improve the quality of life, and it does not have to be associated with the introduction of machines into the human body. All over the world, entire departments for biohackers are beginning to appear, where they sell the necessary tools.

The popularity of nootropics is growing – drugs that have a number of properties:

increase the speed of thinking;
improve learning ability;
increase work efficiency and attention.

Some people take up to forty different tablets a day to get the best results. Moreover, they combine biohacking and sartans, aspirin and statins, and end up taking Metformin and Rapamycin.

Despite the fact that biohackers consider their business to be the medicine of the future, many legal and ethical problems have arisen around this controversial phenomenon. However, developers have not stopped selling gene editing drugs.

Personal biohackers strive to improve their potential and improve their health through advances in science. They practice brain biohacking with Modafinil, hormones and tranquilizers. Many doctors are skeptical about such experiments.

Where did biohacking come from?

The term biohacker and biohacking first appeared in a 1988 Washington Post article discussing how biotechnology would be used to “manipulate the genetic code of a living organism.” Then the author cited rather aggressive theses and prophesied that by the beginning of the two thousandth mankind would be obsessed with transforming itself with the help of scientific technologies, and we would all strive to become such cyborgs. At the same time, the author did not seriously exclude the prospect that genetic engineering will become a home hobby for schoolchildren. And that uncontrolled biohacking will lead to the fact that someday we will see the headlines that someone has cloned a deadly virus in their bathroom.

Fortunately, the prophecy of the author of the article, Michael Schrage, did not come true in the form in which he feared. But this does not mean that the concept has sunk into oblivion. Just the opposite. Biohacking has become practically a sacred cow for those who are obsessed with the topic of a healthy lifestyle and its maximum extension. But, if earlier the key to a long and active life was good nutrition and healthy sleep – today these theses are somewhat detailed.

In the 2010s, communities emerged that began to engage in biological hacking. Under the guidance of mentors, they conducted biological research, and the results were published in various publications.

Silicon longevity boom

A kind of boom in hacking the body's own reserves began in 2016 in Silicon Valley. Then the network blew up the news about the discovery of the phenomenon of autophagy by the Japanese scientist Yoshinori Osumi. Taking breaks from eating has been shown to trigger the cell's self-cleaning process, leading to better health. And, given that by that time biohacking was already troubling the hearts of local top managers, the scientific background completely “untied everyone's hands”. Everything related to the topic of healthy lifestyle in California has become almost a sacred phenomenon. The fasting diet has especially taken root there, which consists in alternating a short interval of food intake and a long period of fasting during the day. We have already written that in the Valley, fasting is compared to meditation.

The belief that there are no unsolvable problems is already becoming part of the way of life there. Want to reduce your stress and anxiety levels? There is meditation for this. Are you dreaming of living forty years longer? Stop eating all the time.

At the same time, at some point, people were so carried away by this discovery that they mistakenly considered the fasting diet to be a magic wand for losing weight. But, as the author of the scientific discovery himself stated, he did not mean anything like that. Moreover, the experiments were carried out exclusively on yeast cells and only in a couple of cases on mice. In humans, he did not conduct a single test, which means that he does not take responsibility to assert how safe and justified autophagy is in the case of a person. And finally, most importantly, the scientist said: “I never said that fasting is good,” and asked not to associate his name with the method of intermittent fasting, to which he has nothing to do.

How much does it cost to biohack yourself?

There is no clear answer to this question. But there are landmarks in the form of cases of people who have made biohacking a beacon of their lives. One of these people was Sergey Fage, the founder of the Ostrovok and TokBox companies. In his column on the Medium portal, he said that he spent 200 thousand dollars on biohacking and is sure that he will live at least 100 years.

The amount of expenses included medical examinations, anamnesis, research and the purchase of dietary supplements, the deficit of which, in fact, was revealed by the analyzes.

Sergei says that he takes handfuls of dietary supplements, injects himself with various drugs and even takes mild antidepressants. This whole set supposedly allows him to improve cognitive functions, to feel vigorous and productive. At the same time, a number of drugs that Sergei talks about cannot be bought without a prescription in many European countries.

“I believe that modern biohacking will start the division of humanity into two completely separate species. Improved “posthumans” (most likely from the technological communities of Silicon Valley and China) will steer everyone. Most likely, the “people of the previous version” will be well taken care of, but they will never be able to influence what is happening in the world, “writes Fage.

Biohacking in Russia

In our country, they learned about biohacking after Sergey Fage spoke on vc.ru about how he optimized his sleep, exercise and nutritious diet. He tested many drugs on himself, became stronger and more confident in himself.

Taking nootropics and tranquilizers, lithium preparations, antidepressants, he plans to live more than a hundred years and is proud of his result. Phage used for his own purposes a pulse oximeter – a device for measuring the amount of oxygen in the blood.

This longevity technique has been criticized by many experts. Some consider his recommendations to be an outright manipulation, which consists in a call to take expensive effective drugs. It will not be so easy to refuse them, and the reception of such funds should be carried out under the supervision of a doctor.

In fact, the correction of metabolism with the help of medicines is appropriate only in the treatment of serious pathologies. There are other ways to burn fat and speed up your brain. Healthy sleep, competent daily routine, reasonable physical activity and proper nutrition are the keys to success.

The founder of Ostrow, Serge Faguet, wrote an article “How I spent 200 thousand on biohacking”. However, not everyone can afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on medical services. Therefore, Fage's experience is used by other biohackers in order to restore health and become happy at the lowest cost.

Blogger Denis Borisov, who practices biohacking at low temperatures, is popular in Russia. He claims that hardening improves many processes in our body, from collagen formation to hair growth. In addition, low temperatures have an anti-inflammatory effect. However, there are some nuances that you should familiarize yourself with before getting into a cold shower. They can be found on the pages of the blogger's book.

Basic principles of biohacking

In this systematic approach to human biology, there are several main stages:

The latest diagnostic methods. Includes comprehensive measures to assess the functioning of the body. A person passes all the tests, visits a psychologist, and undergoes diagnostics of organs in various states.
Specialist consultation and preparation of an individual program. The desired results and methods of achieving them are determined based on the goals of change and the state of health.
Treatment. A lifestyle correction is being carried out.
Repeated diagnostics. It is carried out in order to track the dynamics and evaluate the results. If necessary, the program is corrected.

Biohacking includes the following areas:

proper nutrition;
moderate physical activity;
restoration of hormonal balance;
identification of genetic risks;
healthy sleep;
cosmetology care;
improvement of brain activity;
relieving stress.

To achieve the goal, not only drugs, diets and sports can be used, but also special equipment, mobile applications.

10 facts about biohacking to help you better understand the process

In the modern sense, biohacking is the process of making small, gradual changes in diet or lifestyle in order to improve the quality of life and well-being. Biohackers promise anything from quick weight loss to improved brain function. But the best biological hacking results come from being knowledgeable and careful about the technique you are testing.
Most often, biohacking is presented in three forms – nutrigenomics, DIY biology and grindering.

Nutrigenomics is still an underdeveloped branch of science. But its ultimate goal is to develop scientifically based dietary recommendations based on genetic information.

DIY biology is a growing biotech social movement where individuals, communities and small organizations study biology and the natural sciences using the same methods as traditional research institutions.

Grinding is a course in which people use the achievements of science and technology and implant or inject devices or substances into the body to improve physiological or cognitive abilities. In part, they can even be called cyborgs.

5 easy steps for aspiring biohackers

Adjust your work schedule to your biological rhythm

Many years ago, Asprey realized that he was a “night owl” and worked most effectively in the middle of the night. Perhaps this rhythm will suit you, or maybe you are the type of person who finds it easier to get up even before the sun rises.

Examine your daily habits: how do you spend your time, energy and prioritize? Determine what time of day you feel at your peak of energy and work according to the requirements of your body. You don't have to get up very early or work at night to be successful in business. But if you adjust your work schedule to your daily biorhythm (which is partly related to genes), you can become a good entrepreneur.

Start getting enough sleep

It is important not only to determine the biological rhythm of your body, but also to sleep well. In his book Head Strong, Asprey explained why it is best to fall asleep in absolute darkness (without any backlight and natural light sources) and at low temperatures. Quality (but not necessarily long) sleep induces a surge of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a source of energy for cells that acts as an anabolic and adds strength to the body.

Take a cold shower

It sounds scary, but in reality, when adjusting the temperature, you just need to find a middle ground between unpleasant cold and bearable.

Just a few minutes in the cold will have a positive effect on both your body and your psyche. Quick contact with the cold tells your body which weak cells it is time to get rid of in order to grow new, younger and more efficient ones. Gradually, you will begin to realize that the cold is not as bad as you initially thought. Cold showers also improve metabolism and neurotransmitter (mood-boosting) activity and relieve pain and inflammation.

Start meditating

One of the most important qualities of an entrepreneur is the ability to endure life's difficulties. In any business, as in life, there are ups and downs, and how we cope with them depends on ourselves. In this regard, meditation is very useful. It allows you to find inner harmony, which helps you to better endure difficulties and more enjoy joyful moments. You can also develop feelings of gratitude, happiness, empathy, and clarity of mind through meditation.

Find a spiritual guide or use an app.

Do a digital detox

Let's face it: most of us spend too much time in front of a computer screen, laptop, smartphone, TV or tablet. A recent report by the analyst firm Nielsen Company showed that the average American spends nearly half a day (10 hours) staring at a screen. And most frightening of all, real life cannot compete with endless technological simulation. Try ditching it for 24 hours and notice how you feel without watching your favorite TV shows or checking social media or email. You will most likely feel uncomfortable. Once you recognize it, you will open your eyes to the life around you and, possibly, new ideas will arise.

You don't have to spend thousands of dollars to be successful with biohacking. All the means to improve yourself and strengthen your body and mind are literally at your fingertips. Analyze what aspects of your life you can control, develop an action plan and take advantage of your limitless possibilities.

Biohacking: A Beginner's Guide

This approach to human biology is only gaining momentum. Biohacker Mark Moshel – about how mobility, awareness, music allow us to better understand our nature, get rid of stress and be closer to ourselves.

1 Mobility

We all know that sitting for a long time is harmful – it leads to muscle tension and destroys our physical abilities. Here are a couple of simple exercises to help you regain your natural mobility.

Exercise 1: Roll on a soft fitness roller for 10 minutes every day. This simple and effective self-massage restores elasticity to the muscles and relieves tension.

Exercise 2: Maintain a neutral back position. To do this, you need to squeeze the buttocks, exhale and draw in the ribs, tighten the abs and bring the head to a neutral position (ears in line with shoulders – imagine that you are being pulled by the crown). Practice a neutral stance every hour.

2 Nutrition

An endless number of articles and books have been written about the benefits of proper nutrition, but what kind of nutrition can be considered as such in the end? Nutritionist Dave Asprey is convinced that you need to eat a lot of vegetables, use vegetable oil, choose natural proteins, and limit your intake of carbohydrates and fruits. He was echoed by nutritionist JJ Virgin, adding that it is extremely important to quit sugar consumption: it is more addictive and addictive than morphine.

Dr. Tom O'Brien draws attention to the stomach-brain relationship. If you are allergic or sensitive to a certain food, but you ignore it, the brain may react with inflammation that affects its functioning. You can find out if you are allergic to food with medical tests.

3 Return to nature

Did you know that any dog is a descendant of a wolf? Yes, and this cute puppy curled up in your lap. He's a wolf too. His distant ancestor would not have toppled over on his back in front of you so that you would scratch his tummy – he would have feasted on you for dinner.

A modern man is practically no different from this puppy. We domesticated ourselves and established a taboo on speculating about it. We are inferior to our ancestors in physical fitness, endurance, the ability to quickly adapt and are more prone to chronic diseases.

If the problem is domestication, then the way out is to return to nature. Here are some tips to help you do this:

• Give up semi-finished products in favor of “live”, natural food: freshly picked vegetables, meat, mushrooms.

• Drink natural water: from a spring or bottled. What we drink is just as important as what we eat.

• Breathe clean air. It is trite, but true: the air in the park is healthier than the air in an apartment with dust and mold spores. Get out of the house as often as possible.

• Be in the sun more often. Sunlight is part of our natural diet and helps the body produce nutrients.

• Get out into nature more often.

4 Mindfulness

My great grandfather came to America with no money. He had no family, no plan for how to live on. He felt happy simply because he lived. Low expectations, high resilience. Today in cafes you can hear complaints that wi-fi is not working. “Life sucks!” High expectations, low resilience.

What to do about it?

Tip 1: create discomfort.

Uncomfortable situations can help lower expectations and increase resilience. Start every day with a cold shower, take part in strenuous sports competitions, try rejection therapy. Finally, give up the comforts of home.

Tip 2: meditate.

To change our point of view, we must understand consciousness. Meditation is a proven path to enhanced awareness. Advanced biofeedback meditation techniques have emerged today, but you need to start with the simplest practices. The most important rule is that the less time you have for meditation, the more often you need to practice it.

What is important to consider in biohacking

They started talking about biohacking after an article by Russian entrepreneur Sergei Fage, where he talked about his experience of “hacking” the body. For five years he worked on himself, during which time he spent more than 200 thousand dollars on research, vitamins and more. The man is satisfied with the result (his biological age is 25 against the actual 32 – at the time of this writing), so he decided to share his story with everyone.

The basic principles that make up biohacking are: sleep, proper nutrition, sports, mental health, medical testing and vitamins, dietary supplements, medicines, etc. It is important that everything is in balance, otherwise the system will not work. Let's start in order:

Sleep

Food

Mental health

Biohackers pay a lot of attention to mental health because they know that stress is bad for the body. One way to deal with it is, of course, meditation. The guys devote time to her every day, because only then can you benefit from her. For beginners, there are apps to help you relax and let go of thoughts. After some time, you will notice that negative emotions arise in your head less and you can let go of any situation.

Also, one of the important points is a visit to a psychotherapist or psychologist. It will help you understand yourself and your emotions, and this, in turn, will make your life easier and relieve stress. In America, for example, antidepressants and mild sedatives are quite often prescribed, in Russia there is practically no such practice.

Analyzes and tests

Many people think that biohacking is just a test of the body for the presence of vitamins, trace elements, minerals, and so on. But we think you have already guessed that this is a whole complex of actions aimed at prolonging life and improving the functioning of the body. However, we could not help touching on the topic of analyzes and testing in more detail.

What is it for? Identify malfunctions in the body and compensate for imbalances. Over time, you will notice improvements in everything – sleep, exercise, work and mental health. Modern clinics offer a full-fledged body check, which includes the delivery of basic tests – this will be useful for a novice biohacker. There it is also necessary to add a genetic test, hemoscanning (examination of the body by a drop of blood), tests for enzymes, toxins and hormones.

Supplements, vitamins and medicines

Sport

Biohackers are tricky guys: they want them to get maximum benefit in the shortest possible time. For them, sport is a way to increase the percentage of muscle tissue and reduce fat, respectively. In addition, it helps them to “stir up” the metabolism and clear thoughts. They devote a lot of time to warm-up in order to minimize the risks of any diseases from exercising.

What do the practitioners say?

In order to understand whether to perceive biohacking as a threat or an opportunity, we decided to talk to Daria Loseva, a geneticist, molecular biologist, and co-founder of the Myhelix project. She devoted her entire adult life to science and says that the concept of biohacking has been greatly transformed lately.

Daria Loseva

“In principle, the classical concept of biohacking includes in vitro fertilization and vaccination more than healthy lifestyles. Since the first methods really bring a person functions that he does not have or has not. However, recently this term has become bright and attractive, that biohacking has transformed into a process of improving one's health by the methods of modern medicine and science “

The biologist says that in the modern sense, biohacking has become synonymous with a healthy lifestyle with the prefix 2.0. Only now a person can not only follow general advice on improving health, but purposefully study the needs of his body, monitor metrics, changes – to identify the lack of vitamins and substances.

At the same time, says Loseva, there is always a certain amount of extremism in biohacking, because many inclinations and experiments of biohackers are not supported by official medicine. “However, this does not negate the emergence of new experiments and experiments in the field, for example, life extension, the emergence of new drugs. At the same time, the effectiveness of many of them is being questioned, “says the geneticist.

As for the search for a formula for eternal youth, here, according to the scientist, there are several ways for the development of science.

“Aging is not officially a disease, which many genetics and people actively involved in biohacking continue to insist on. Indeed, recently humanity has come to the question: is aging a cause or a consequence of diseases? – explains Daria. “Only after this process is given the status of a disease, it will be legal and expedient to seek therapy from it.”

Loseva believes that if we proceed from the model in which concomitant diseases shorten life, then by curing in time, a person becomes younger. There is a chance to prolong life. In any case, the quality of life without disease is better than with it.

“Let's take a simple example. Obesity is a risk for many diseases. This means that it directly affects the duration of life. I suggest remembering your surroundings or google information about centenarians. You will not find overweight people among them. And this means that after being cured of obesity there is a chance to prolong life, “explains the geneticist.

Daria is convinced that Elizabeth Perisch's experience with her experiment on telomere lengthening should not be taken to an absolute: “She worked with only one molecular factor that causes aging. At the same time, there are many others – genome instability, epigenetic changes, loss of proteostasis, mitochondrial dysfunction, etc.

They all occur in the body, no matter how long the telomere of the gene is. She did not become immortal. ” Daria also does not exclude that this whole story may turn out to be both a marketing ploy and the beginning of the use of more complex preventive measures (genetic engineering) in the fight against aging.

Daria also refers to the advantages of biohacking that when a person begins to learn about his health, comes to a doctor for a consultation, adjusts his diet, takes medications as prescribed by a doctor and monitors the result – he does himself an invaluable service.

“Sometimes people live up to 30, 40, 50 years and do not know at all how the body functions, in what state it is and why. – explains Loseva. “It often happens that when people make a health check for the first time, they find serious problems that require immediate attention.”

The biologist is convinced that in this regard, the phenomenon of biohacking may well affect a person's mental approach to their own health. “People have already become more conscious in terms of approaches to food, attention to detail. They begin to take an interest in things that have been taboo for a long time. We begin to be more attentive to health, learn about useful and harmful products, test different approaches and become more aware, “Daria is sure.

With regard to other types of biohacking, such as fasting or restricting the consumption of certain foods, the geneticist tends to believe that they can be useful. At the same time, before starting a diet or fasting, you should make sure that they do not harm the body.

Daria advises to carry out any fasting after consultation with a specialist and clearly monitor your condition.

“Diet restrictions are a useful thing. Already, for example, it has been proven that animals that eat less live longer. But here it is important not to overdo it. Depriving yourself of nutrients at the cost of losing weight is a bad idea. Monitor your well-being and do not be lazy to consult a doctor before starting any experiments on yourself. “

Does biohacking have disadvantages?

For many, the main disadvantage is that this is not a temporary hobby and testing of the body, but a permanent one. You have to rebuild all your habits and start a new way of life. It is also worth understanding that you will not see an immediate effect. To improve performance and change in well-being, at least six months should pass, and most likely even a year or more.

In addition, some doctors believe that constant monitoring of the body does not make sense. You can correct certain indicators with the help of vitamins and dietary supplements, but it is far from the fact that the disease arose precisely due to a lack of some substances.

Do not forget that this is a constant investment of large funds. Analyzes, tests, consultations, fresh produce, personal trainers and so on cost a lot of money. Still, “hacking” the body alone is not a good idea.

In addition, taking a large number of drugs can completely harm the body. There are no studies proving that a mix of certain vitamins, dietary supplements and drugs will not negatively affect you over time. Most of the testing of drugs takes place on sick people, and if you are healthy and take them for another reason, and not to get well, for a long time, it is not clear how they will affect you.

Also, biohackers often sit on intermittent fasting and diets, which, as you understand, is not always useful. If this is not done very carefully, you can bring yourself to indigestion and heart failure.

Therefore, before deciding on biohacking, think about all the pros and cons. It may not be worth it.

Sources used and useful links on the topic: http://pitaniemoe.ru/biohaking-osnovnye-printsipy-i-metody/ https://5sfer.com/biohaking-10-veshhej-kotorye-vy-dolzhny-znat-chtoby- prozhit-do-100-let / https://rb.ru/story/easy-biohacking/ https://www.psychologies.ru/wellbeing/biohaking-rukovodstvo-dlya-nachinayuschih/ https: //www.cosmo. ru / health / your_health / predotvratit-bolezni-i-sohranit-molodost-kak-tebe-pomozhet-biohaking /

Post source: lastici.ru