The document discusses the use of synthetic biology, a biohacking technique, to convert carbon dioxide into sustainable fuels and chemicals.

The document discusses biopharmaceutical production, which involves the use of advanced technologies to improve health and well-being, but is distinct from biohacking.

"The gene editing technology mentioned in the document is CRISPR, which is used in DIY kits and classes for genetic engineering."

Biohacking involves using strategies such as nutrition, sleep quality, physical activity, and cognitive stimulation to activate epigenetic modifications and enhance the body's resources, with the goal of improving health and longevity.

Neurofeedback therapy is a biohacking method used to improve mental health, particularly for individuals with ADHD, trauma, and OCD.

Biohacking focuses on improving quality of life by reducing morbidity through stress management, nutritional therapies, and medical screenings.

Biohacking techniques aim to optimize metabolism, increase health, and longevity through strategies like intermittent fasting, improved sleep quality, hydration, and physical activity, as well as cognitive stimulation and continuous learning.

The goal of the biohacker's approach, besides prolonging life, is to improve the quality of life by lowering the rate of morbidity.

The biohacker's approach aims to optimize health and longevity by activating dormant genes and enhancing the body's resources through strategies such as nutrition, sleep quality, physical activity, and cognitive stimulation.

The practice of biohacking is perceived as a means to achieve high mental performance, creativity, and productivity, particularly in competitive industries like tech, but also raises concerns about its safety and efficacy due to the use of unconventional and sometimes poorly researched methods.

The document discusses the use of synthetic biology, a biohacking technique, to convert carbon dioxide into sustainable fuels and chemicals.

Title:

Content: Transform bacteria, turn carbon dioxide into fuel!
- Liao Chun-chih and Synthetic Biology
Synthetic biology is based on the accumulation of knowledge from the past, modifying a large number of genes and creating new metabolic pathways.
This is like designing a new phone, starting with the old phone module, and drastically changing the internal semiconductor components and circuits to develop new features.
In other words, synthetic biology has ushered humanity into an era in which life can be “designed. ”
Toward a net-zero future with synthetic biology
Climate change is the most important environmental issue of the century. In order to achieve the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in addition to improving energy efficiency and producing renewable energy, it is bound to convert the greenhouse gases generated by fossil fuels into a form of reuse.
Under this premise, how can carbon dioxide be turned into a sustainable fuel? Academia Sinica ’ s “Research Ingredients ” interviewed Dr. Liao Junzhi, who and his team used synthetic biology to modify bacterial genes and redesign metabolic pathways so that bacteria can convert greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into fuels and chemicals, effectively reducing greenhouse gases.
Academia Sinica President Liao Chun-chih uses synthetic biology to create a sustainable carbon sequestration pathway to produce sustainable biofuels.
Recycling CO2 as a usable fuel
Imagine the following picture:
During the day you chat with your family in the living room, the exhaled carbon dioxide is absorbed by a special device, and the modified bacteria in the machine can convert the carbon dioxide into glucose.
When you ’ re ready to go, the car runs out of gas, and this time another modified bacterium absorbs carbon dioxide, which then directly produces usable fuel.
These scenes, like science fiction, are gradually coming true in the laboratory of Academia Sinica President Liao Junzhi.
Using synthetic biology techniques, the researchers modified the genes of bacteria and redesigned the metabolic pathways of cells, which can absorb greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide to produce the fuel or chemicals we need.
What is synthetic biology?
Although synthetic biology also modifies biological genes, it is completely different from the scale of genetic modification in the past.
Traditional genetic modification can only increase or eliminate one or more genes, and is limited to optimizing or weakening certain specific functions of the cell, such as drought tolerance and insect resistance.
Synthetic biology, on the other hand, can design a new metabolic pathway, modify the complete genome required, and rewrite the function of the cell — the same as redesigning the cell!
For example: transforming E. coli into a bacterium that eats only methanol.
Cell metabolism refers to a series of chemical reactions within the cell, which can be the breakdown of molecules to obtain energy, such as the respiration of the cell, or the synthesis of molecules needed for synthesis, such as the photosynthesis of plants to synthesize glucose.
In the past, biologists worked hard to understand natural organisms, and genetic modification was just one of the techniques.
Today, humans have decoded the structure of cells, the components of living organisms, knowing that cells, under the command of different gene groups, create different metabolic pathways and perform various functions.
Synthetic biology is based on the accumulation of knowledge from the past, modifying a large number of genes and creating new metabolic pathways.
This is like designing a new phone, starting with the old phone module, and drastically changing the internal semiconductor components and circuits to develop new features.
In other words, synthetic biology has ushered humanity into an era in which life can be “designed. ”
Synthetic biology is about redesigning cells in terms of engineering concepts.
Design first, then evolve!
Specifically, scientists will first decide what new function (metabolic path) they want, but cell metabolism and its mechanism of controlling genes are very complex, and humans have not fully solved the mystery, and it is impossible to know all the genes that need to be modified in advance.
Therefore, synthetic biology modified genes, not as a past cut, but first designed, and then evolved.
In the design stage, some bacterial cells are selected, some genes are modified, so that the cells are very close to the intended target, and then the appropriate environment is given to allow the cells to evolve on their own to see which offspring of the plant will evolve to the desired function.
Liao Chun-chih's analogy is that if you want to cross the ocean, you have to have at least one boat before you can start, and then gradually improve the details on the voyage, such as transforming the hull into a streamlined shape.
For example, the following figure shows the research and development process of Liao Junzhi ’ s presentation of the results of synthetic methanophilic bacteria in 2020.
To transform Escherichia coli into synthetic bacteria that eat only methanol and produce reusable chemical raw materials.
Through design, directed evolution, imaging and gene sequencing, the research team successfully produced the world ’ s first methanophilic strain.
In Liao Junzhi ’ s research on synthetic methanophilic bacteria, in order to change the metabolic path of E. coli, the most important is the initial design and directional evolution.
The initial design was to modify the Escherichia coli gene to bring it closer to its intended function, while directed evolution was to allow bacteria with the same initial conditions to evolve separately until one strain of bacteria successfully achieved its intended goal, which is, "synthetic methanophilus".
(Source: Liao Chun-chih)
Using synthetic biology techniques to reengineer the metabolic pathways of cells, once successfully evolved, cells will be able to produce complex, precise molecules or cells that are difficult to produce by human chemical engineering.
At present, synthetic biology focuses on the fields of industry and medicine. The industry uses bacterial factories to produce different fuels or chemical molecules. For example, Liao Chun-chih ’ s team has successfully made fuels and chemicals by reinventing the metabolic pathways of various bacteria.
Carbon Dioxide Turns Fuel to Fight Global Warming Crisis
Looking at Liao ’ s research, the core concern has always been to solve the problem of global warming with synthetic biology.
Through several papers, he has demonstrated how to change the metabolic pathways of microbes to convert recycled raw materials into fuels and chemicals.
Among them, the direct conversion of carbon dioxide into fuel is undoubtedly one of Liao ’ s most original achievements!
In the past, people have been able to use bacteria to produce fuel, antibiotics or cancer drugs, but most of the raw materials are sugar, so the need to grow sugar cane and corn, not only expensive, using food as fuel is not ideal.
So Liao Junzhi thought, why not go back to the source and start with carbon dioxide? That is, using carbon dioxide as a raw material to create a new carbon cycle.
Because sugars are produced by photosynthesis after plants absorb carbon dioxide, he thought: can we directly modify photosynthesis, so that plants only absorb carbon dioxide, but do not produce sugar, change to fuel, and form a sustainable carbon cycle? This will not only solve the problem of raw materials, but also digest the huge amount of carbon dioxide that can only be stored and cannot be used.
Liao Junzhi spent ten years sharpening his sword and developing various experimental approaches. In 2012, he used electricity to indirectly drive microorganisms and perform biological reduction of carbon dioxide, and successfully stored electric energy in liquid fuel (isobutanol).
This is the world ’ s first case of combining solar cells with microbial biochemical reactions to produce fuel, and the research results are published in the international journal Science.
(Source: Liao Chun-chih)
The story begins with photosynthesis...
To understand Liao Chun-chih ’ s conversion from carbon dioxide to fuel, one must first understand what photosynthesis is.
Photosynthesis is divided into two steps: the first is the light reaction, the light energy into chemical energy; the second is the use of this chemical energy to fix carbon dioxide, and eventually produce glucose.
Photosynthesis is one of nature's carbon sequestration systems. Photosynthesis converts light energy into chemical energy, which is then used to fix carbon dioxide and eventually produce glucose.
TITLE │ RESEARCH
Photosynthesis is the use of light to stimulate the leaves to release electrons to restore carbon in carbon dioxide.
Liao Chun-Chi modified the photoelectric effect of solar panels to generate electrons to drive carbon reduction, which can provide electrons more stably and efficiently than living organisms.
Another benefit is that the electricity generated by the solar panel can be converted into chemical energy storage, which solves the problem of low efficiency of solar energy storage.
With the electron source, Liao Chun-chih ’ s team chose R. eutropha bacteria as the modification target, which does not have chloroplasts, but when the electrode returns the carbon dioxide in the solution to formic acid (HCOO –), it uses formic acid to synthesize chemical energy (NADPH), paired with the carbon dioxide in the solution, to carry out the “carbon sequestration ” in photosynthesis, which is the Calvin cycle.
"Carbon sequestration" refers to the conversion of carbon dioxide into high-carbon compounds, so that it no longer escapes into the air and can be recycled again.
More importantly, using synthetic biology, the metabolic pathway of R. eutropha bacteria has been redesigned and evolved so that the final product of this “pseudo-photosynthesis ” pathway is not glucose, but isobutanol, a high-carbon alcohol that can be used as a substitute for gasoline or processed into aviation fuel.
Liao and his team transformed the microbial system: Through the synthetic reaction of bacterial cells, electrical energy is first converted to chemical energy, and chemical energy is then synthesized to produce fuel.
In order to protect bacteria from the free radicals produced by the electrodes, the research team added a ceramic partition layer to isolate the electrodes from the bacteria, so that these free radicals decay before they touch the bacterial cells.
Integrated Electromicrobial Conversion of CO2 to Higher Alcohols
The world 's first methanophilic strain
In addition to R. eutropha bacteria and photosynthesis, Liao ’ s team has also continued to try to design different artificial carbon cycles, opening up more possibilities for reducing carbon emissions.
As early as 2008, Liao Junzhi published in the journal Nature the synthesis of isobutanol from modified Escherichia coli, so that bioenergy will no longer be exclusive to ethanol fuel, and instead develop high-carbon molecular fuel.
This technology has been used by American energy companies in the manufacture of bio-fuels for the aviation industry.
In 2020, the Liao Junzhi research team has a new record!
The team successfully transformed Escherichia coli to create the world ’ s first “synthetic methanophilus ”, which specializes in eating methanol converted from greenhouse gases, producing reusable fuel, and even converting the bacteria into various daily chemical products, making the bacteria a real chemical factory.
The research paper was published in the journal Cell in August 2020 and has been hailed as a “new benchmark in synthetic biology ”.
Liao ’ s team transformed the metabolic pathway of E. coli to make methanol the only food source (carbon source), converting greenhouse gases into methanol and turning it into a reusable fuel (e.g. isobutanol).
(Source: Liao Chun-chih)
What is Synthetic Methanolophilus?
Methanol, which is toxic to general bacteria, is a metabolizable resource for methanophilic bacteria.
Scientists have long been studying whether these bacteria can be modified to absorb methanol and make human chemicals.
Unfortunately, natural methanophiles are difficult to modify.
So scientists turned their attention to the possibility of transforming other bacteria into methanophilic bacteria, but years later, no results have been achieved.
In 2020, Liao Junzhi ’ s team discovered that methanol enters common bacteria, causing DNA and proteins in cells to entangle each other, leading to cell death.
Therefore, the research team used an original theory to speculate on the key enzyme that Escherichia coli needs to be regulated, and launched more stringent gene regulation to avoid this death path, and finally transformed Escherichia coli into methanophilic bacteria, and the growth rate of natural methanophilic bacteria.
"This is the result of the Academia Sinica team's efforts alone.
"Liao Junzhi was gratified, but also pointed out that the research breakthrough came from the long-term enthusiastic investment of the outstanding personnel of the Academia Sinica, the clues to explore the problem in a flexible way, and the advanced core facilities of the Institute, which enabled such a significant achievement to be achieved.
For decades, adhering to the core concern of using synthetic biology to solve the problem of global warming, every paper published by Liao Junzhi in leading journals such as Nature and Nature has been a key piece of the journey towards this goal, and it is now getting closer and closer to the complete outline.
Although the road ahead is still full of unknowns, he believes: “It is impossible to solve all problems at once, but don ’ t worry, you can always think of solutions. ”
That ’ s the fun of science! ”
All solutions have a problem, but all problems have a solution.
Interview │ Hsiao-Chun Huang
Art Design │ Lin An
This article is reproduced by permission from the research object to modify bacteria, carbon dioxide into fuel!
- Liao Chun-chih and Synthetic Biology
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The document discusses biopharmaceutical production, which involves the use of advanced technologies to improve health and well-being, but is distinct from biohacking.

Title:

Content: Introduction: Cell-Line Development Discussions at Biotech Week Boston

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The genetic sequence of the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line first was published just over a decade ago (1, 2). As with the Human Genome Project, genomic knowledge of that and other biopharmaceutical production cell lines — both animal and microbial — has expanded greatly alongside dramatic increases in computing power (3–5). Meanwhile new and improved genetic engineering techniques have offered the potential for targeted rather than random integration of transgenes into production cells. And regulators began to emphasize monoclonality more, demanding evidence that cell banks are derived from single engineered cells. All the while, cell-line development (CLD) groups faced increasing pressure to shorten timelines associated with their workflows.

As presentations at recent BPI conferences have revealed, “big data,” next-generation sequencing (NGS), automation, and powerful analytical technologies are helping biopharmaceutical companies achieve all those goals in parallel. And despite the widespread popularity of certain instruments, the talks at Biotech Week Boston (BWB) and the BPI Conference US West (BPI West) demonstrated that there is no one way to do so. Combining some of the approaches mentioned herein just might take biopharmaceutical production to new levels that not long ago would have been deemed impossible.

Below we highlight discussions at BWB. Look for more in our BPI West postevent report later this year.

Clonality and Transgene Integration
In September 2022, the BPI Conference program within BWB included both a preconference workshop on CLD and topical talks within the upstream production track. Presenters often spoke about how advanced gene-editing techniques can increase process productivity without compromising product quality. For example, biopharmaceutical companies increasingly are applying transposase-based gene editing to increase gene-integration targeting efficiency and accelerate CLD workflows (see the “Transposases” box). This is helping them reduce the number of subcloning/pool-screening steps that programs require.

Presenters highlighted the importance of high gene-copy numbers for optimized expression. Many talks highlighted the industry’s needs for technologies that enable continuous and/or real-time control of cell-culture parameters, especially for truly on-line process analytical technology (PAT). Many current systems need to improve interfaces between bioreactors and automated samplers/analyzers. BioPhorum representatives announced publication of a risk-assessment guide for raw materials used in CLD and other upstream processes. And some presenters called for greater attention to compositional chemistry, highlighting how such factors influence cell growth, consumption of media nutrients, and other key parameters.

In “Microfluidic-Chip–Based Single-Cell Cloning To Accelerate Biologic Production Timelines,” Geneva Alok (Amgen) explained that after genetic engineering and transfection, CLD can take ~28 weeks. That begins with initial selection of candidate clones through amplification by methotrexate (MTX) or methionine sulfoximine (MSX) and progresses through pool screening, subcloning, large-scale subcloning, clone screening at small production scales, and ultimately, large-scale screening. Alok is one of many speakers at BPI conferences in the past few years reporting on her company’s use of the Beacon instrument from Berkeley Lights to expedite selection and cloning steps. Loaded with thousands of clones, the machine photophoretically sorts single cells into NanoPen chip segments, where they are cultured and monitored continuously. (If two cells end up in a pen, the system can unpen and reload them; usually, the number of single-clone cultures is enough for conclusive results.) The system performs real-time analytics on those single-cell cultures. A complete cloning process takes about five days rather than the two to three weeks needed for fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) methods. Even though the new technology is two to five times more expensive than the older one, large companies increasingly believe that its speed and throughput make up the difference. Amgen has replaced FACS-based screening with a Beacon instrument.

Alok highlighted that system’s Spotlight assay, which enables rapid screening to identify 10 highly productive clones (rather than the 96 productive clones typically identified by FACS). Monoclonality is documented by cell imaging, and CLD is accelerated by elimination of pool-screening steps. The Amgen team ran two different workflows to identify viable clones, then selected top candidates based on the results. When those findings were compared with results from fed-batch cultures of the same clones in Ambr microbioreactors, both performed comparably with similar stability based on parameters such as gene copy number and titer. Alok noted that the shortened workflow could generate clones with high genetic diversity after recovery, but that would require further study.

In “Cell-Bank Characterization and Retrospective Assessment of Clonality,” Guanghua Li (Merck) focused on test methods. Merck’s master cell bank (MCB) and working cell banks (WCBs) are produced according to good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards to reduce the possibility for introducing contamination. Li pointed out that no single testing regime can detect all potential contaminants (e.g., from culture media components). Cell-bank characterization typically entails assessment of a cell substrate’s identity, purity, and suitability for manufacturing applications. Such testing includes assays for viral contamination (often using minute virus of mice as a model) and in vitro/in vivo assays for adventitious agents (AAs).

Highlighting the revised ICH Q5A, which provides for application of NGS in AA testing, Li also summarized options for limit of in-vitro cell age (LIVCA) stability testing, noting that such testing usually is performed only once during cell banking. He noted that it is helpful to perform such testing at an intended production scale (e.g., 2,000 L) or simulation thereof. Doing so can help with study design and to demonstrate genotypic, phenotypic, and biosafety stability over the number of generations required for LIVCA testing. Li also summarized potential cloning strategies to use when demonstrating monoclonality, noting that adaptation to serum-free conditions (if applicable) should be performed before cloning steps are performed.

In “Use of Transposase-Mediated Integration To Reduce Screening and Shorten Cell-Line Development Timelines,” Hillary Warrington (Janssen) pointed to a primary pain point in CLD workflows: Clones can show variable success across transfections and preparations. “That needs to be optimized,” she said, adding, “Ideally, you want a high gene-copy number, which correlates positively with transfection success for expression titers.” Insertion efficiency for a gene of interest (GoI) can be increased in three ways, she said: through modification of transfection methods, gene-modification of host cells, and use of transposase mediators. She focused on the latter, describing her company’s application of ATUM Bio’s Leap-In transposase and transposon technologies.

The technology uses an RNA transposase to insert GoIs at different chromosomal sites and in high copy numbers — with more targeted genetic integration than a conventional plasmid system can offer. In Janssen’s study, ~95% of insertion sites used the transposon, and the resulting clones showed good stability with high copy numbers preserved across passages. The company’s historical data also show that application of Leap-In technology has increased monoclonal antibody (MAb) expression titers consistently since its adoption in 2018.

Warrington pointed out that less random integration enables CLD scientists to reduce the requisite number of subcloning steps, thus enabling earlier production of material for toxicology studies and other relevant activities. Moreover, subclones/populations do not require enrichment before sorting. Such benefits have helped Janssen to shorten its CLD timelines significantly by reducing clone-screening requirements. Other time savings have come from automation.

In “High-Throughput Characterization for IgM Cell-Line Development,” Christina Tsai (IGM Biosciences) reported on an accelerated testing approach. Increasingly, the sheer number of screening activities performed during CLD necessitates adoption of high-throughput instruments and methods. Tsai described her company’s collaboration with a technology supplier to improve and accelerate characterization studies for CLD activities toward production of IgM antibodies. Her company introduced PerkinElmer’s Lab Chip GX II system for high-throughput analysis of glycans, protein expression levels, and product characterization.

As a replacement for sodium-dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), the instrument performs a gel-electrophoretic method on a multiuse microfluidic chip: sodium dodecylsulfate microcapillary electrophoresis (µCE-SDS). Requiring at least 2.5 µL of material, the instrument can analyze each sample in about one minute, and a chip can be reused for 400 samples. IGM’s workflow requires about 1.5 hours of preparation, 50 minutes to run 50 samples, and under an hour for analysis. Tsai highlighted that the method can be performed 6× faster than affinity high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and 25× faster than size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). The system also can be used to assess titer levels and glycan profiles 50× faster than a system for hydrophilic-interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) testing.

In “Growing Pains: The Ups and Downs of Building a CLD Platform Process from Scratch,” Allyn Spear (Elanco) chronicled successes and pitfalls from development of a host-cell line for production of a canine antibody product. Before 2000, he explained, biologics equated to vaccines in animal health — but that veterinary companies now are expanding into other modalities. Elanco is among the animal-health companies developing capabilities for biological products such as antibodies and other proteins.

Tasked with identifying a glutamine synthetase (GS)–knock-out host-cell line to express a canine antibody, Spear and his colleagues also needed to identify optimal culture parameters toward a long-term goal of producing that antibody at commercial scale. First, they experimented with the GS piggyBac and Leap-In transposon systems (from Lonza and ATUM, respectively) to identify an effective vector strategy. Elanco settled on a two-plasmid transfection approach but found significant variability in transfection efficiency and posttransfection viability. With too many variables involved to narrow down the root cause, the team needed to apply additional reagents to increase transfection consistency.

They used the Berkeley Lights Beacon system for early clone selection activities. Spear noted, however, that the project required custom reagent development because it involved nonhuman antibodies. The team used Ambr microbioreactors from Sartorius for final clone screening. He highlighted difficulties in CLD for start-ups and other small teams: e.g., supply chain problems with equipment availability and inconsistent quality across consumables from different suppliers.

In “Accelerating Cell-Line Development Processes Through Automation Platform Integration,” Woo Chi (Just–Evotec) explained that his company makes abundant use of automation technologies because of a preference for continuous biomanufacturing. He noted that his CLD team faced difficulties in implementing a robotic platform for cell transfer (passaging/retention in a perfusion process). Initially, the system was transferring only 10% of cells, but the team adjusted software scripts over several programming iterations to increase cell transfer to 90%.

In “Implementing Beacon Optofluidic Technology for Accelerated Cell-Line Development for Complex Subunit Vaccine Candidates,” Jishna Ganguly (GSK) pointed out that most reported applications of Beacon technology have been in antibody process development. GSK is the first company to use the photophoretic technology to accelerate CLD activities in production of antigens used in a subunit vaccine.
Ganguly shared a feasibility study that her company used in adopting the system. GSK previously used a 12-day workflow that combined application of a Cell Metric cell imager (Solentim) and an assay from Luminex. The Beacon system accelerated CLD considerably while generating results comparable to those from the previous workflow.

Ganguly concluded by highlighting continuing CLD needs of vaccine makers, who could benefit from solutions that reduce manual handling during testing and that minimize the number of instruments required for the many kinds of screening performed (e.g., for clone productivity, product quality, monoclonality). Although many choices are available, drug makers often apply many different technologies, increasing experimental effort and time along with the complexity of system integration.

In “Evaluation of Transposase Technology To Generate Highly Productive CHO Cell Lines,” Eric Lee (Biogen) explained that his company, like many other drug developers, is leveraging transposase-mediated gene editing to expedite CLD activities. His team accelerated CLD by two weeks through applying Lonza’s GS piggyBac transposon system and eliminating steps for MTX amplification. That allowed the program to move right into evaluation of material from recovered pools. Transfection recoveries were good, and although the transposon system generated considerably more random integration than Biogen’s legacy method did, pool-expressed material was comparable in quality, with aggregation and isoform levels that aligned with those from historical data. In subsequent studies, Biogen determined that the transposase system also was compatible with MTX amplification and that adding that step back into the workflow increased expression titers significantly. Ultimately, the company improved its CLD workflow to generate material for toxicology studies five months earlier than would have been possible with the legacy method.

In “Epigenetic Comparison of CHO Hosts and Clones Reveals Divergent Methylation and Transcription Patterns Across Lineages,” Meiping Chang (Merck) noted that genomic and epigenomic analyses are becoming critical to assessment of transgene integration and clone selection. The trick, she explained, is to evaluate epigenetic regulators of transcription without dismantling host-cell DNA, especially because epigenetic markers can be inserted or removed.
She explained that DNA-methylation patterns are passed down by parent cells, although new patterns can emerge during cloning. Underlying mechanisms of such changes include differential expression of epigenetic readers, erasers, and effectors. To demonstrate, Chang shared her team’s testing of two host-cell lines for genomic changes over several generations by searching for differentially methylated regions (DMRs). Most clonal cells showed inherited changes in methylation patterns. That, Chang explained, could indicate development of a trait for long-term genetic stability. Using such information could help CLD scientists to find ideal candidates for transgene integration.

Emphasis on Speed
The focused CLD workshop at Biotech Week Boston culminated in a panel discussion titled “Techniques and Technologies To Accelerate CLD and Solve Bottleneck Challenges,” with Allyn Spear, Woo Chi, Hillary Warrington, and William Rice (Nexcelom Bioscience). Panelists noted that companies increasingly are using artificial intelligence (AI) to identify and optimize vector constructs. Both on the stage and in the audience, there was particular excitement for growth in libraries for human antibodies. One attendee asked whether it could be helpful to use a reporter gene during early CLD activities. Panelists explained that such genes are not secreted as antibodies are; thus, they might be useful for gauging transfection efficiency but not for expression titer.

Many participants questioned whether to use random or targeted gene integration during CLD. Panelists explained that pools from clones generated using the former technique often show more heterogeneity and experience epigenetic drift over time. Technologies for targeted integration can generate more homogenous pools that might show less drift. However, even minor epigenetic drift must be characterized, so drug makers using targeted integration would not be relieved of some associated regulatory burden for product characterization. One panelist noted that current technologies for targeted gene integration also result in some random integration and that such occurrences could cause regulatory questions. Considering the significant costs associated with targeted-integration technologies, developers should evaluate their needs carefully to help ensure that such solutions will be worth the investment.

Transposases
First identified by Barbara McClintock in the mid-20th century (work that earned her the 1983 Nobel Prize in physiology/medicine), transposase enzymes bind to the end of a transposon and catalyze its movement to another part of a cell’s genome, typically through a cut-and-paste or replicative mechanism. In nature, transposition is both useful for evolution and adaptation to changing environments and potentially dangerous to individual survival. Because genomic instability can lead to unhelpful mutations, most such genes are down-regulated. But transposases have great utility in genetic engineering.Further Reading
Aziz RK, Breitbart M, Edwards RA. Transposases Are the Most Abundant, Most Ubiquitous Genes in Nature. Nucl. Acids Res. 38(13) 2010: 4207–4217; https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkq140.Grabundzija I, et al. Comparative Analysis of Transposable Element Vector Systems in Human Cells. Molec. Ther. 18(6) 2010: 1200–1209; https://doi.org/10.1038/mt.2010.47.Gustafsson C, et al. Engineering Genes for Predictable Protein Expression. Prot. Expr. Purif. 83(1) 2012: 37–46; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pep.2012.02.013.Rajendra Y, Peery RB, Barnard GC. Generation of Stable Chinese Hamster Ovary Pools Yielding Antibody Titers of Up to 7.6 g/L Using the PiggyBac Transposon System. Biotechnol. Prog. 32(5) 2016: 1301–1307; https://doi.org/10.1002/btpr.2307.

Vics Z, Izsvák Z. A Whole Lotta Jumpin’ Goin’ On: New Transposon Tools for Vertebrate Functional Genomics. Trends Genet. 21(1) 2005: 8–11; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2004.11.008.

Cell-Line Engineering at BPI West
Held on 27 February through 2 March 2022, the BPI West program in San Diego, CA, included a full track devoted to cell-line development. Many themes followed from the BWB discussions a few months before, but the overall emphasis shifted toward applying advanced genetic engineering techniques to improve cell stability, productivity, predictability, and viability. Technological potentialities touted over recent years seem to be coming to fruition in big ways in the post-COVID era. Look for a full report on the program coming up later this year.

References
1 Wurm F, Hacker D. First CHO Genome. Nat. Biotechnol. 29, 2011: 718–720; https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.1943.

2 Xu X, et al. The Genomic Sequence of the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO)-K1 Cell Line. Nat. Biotechnol. 29, 2011: 735–741; https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.1932.

3 Lewis N, et al. Genomic Landscapes of Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell Lines As Revealed By the Cricetulus griseus Draft Genome. Nat. Biotechnol. 31, 759–765 (2013); https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.2624.

4 Rupp O, et al. A Reference Genome of the Chinese Hamster Based on a Hybrid Assembly Strategy. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 115(8) 2018: 2087–2100; https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.26722.

5 Lin D, et al. CHOmics: A Web-Based Tool for Multi-Omics Data Analysis and Interactive Visualization in CHO Cell Lines. PLOS Comput. Biol. 22 December 2020; https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008498.

Brian Gazaille is managing editor, and corresponding author Cheryl Scott is cofounder and senior technical editor of BioProcess International (part of Informa Connect Life Sciences); 1-212-600-3429; cheryl.scott@informa.com; https://www.bioprocessintl.com.

"The gene editing technology mentioned in the document is CRISPR, which is used in DIY kits and classes for genetic engineering."

Title:

Content: DIY gene editing: This home use kit makes CRISPR accessible to all

Journalist Lana Schwartz used Jo Zayner's DIY kit to edit human kidney tissue at home.
DIY Bacterial Gene Engineering CRISPR Kit.

The ODIN

Genetic engineering for everyone!

Yes, this is possible thanks to biohacker and artist Jo Zayner's DIY kits and classes. It's possible that you met Zayner on Netflix through the documentary called "Unnatural Selections," which, released in 2019, revealed how DNA could be changed using CRISPR technology.

By establishing The ODIN, Zayner's genetic engineering education became accessible with kits such as the "DIY Bacterial Gene Engineering CRISPR Kit." Well, you may hesitate to use it, but Lana Schwartz from Vice didn't and shared her experiences.

As reported by Schwartz, she started to take Human Tissue Culture and Engineering 201 class, which aims to teach students how to edit DNA through an experiment that involves making HEK (Human Embryonic Kidney). Got the kit just a couple of days before the class, "it came with amateur science equipment, a "Biohacking is Not a Crime" sticker, the kidney cells I'd hoped for, and vials of brightly colored liquids for the DNA-editing experiment," she said.

"To edit the genome of kidney cells, students use pipettes to add a variety of liquids with funky names to the cells. One of them was a plasmid containing the DNA coding for an antibiotic-resistance gene. The other liquids were involved in, as I like to think about it, shoving the DNA into the cells.," she added.

According to Schwartz, she felt like she was cooking during the lessons and while working on the experiment kit, and she even said that she thought she could apply this experiment to her DNA after a while.

Most Popular

CRISPR therapies could cause cancer

Even if CRISPR technology is a kind of revolution in genetic engineering, some experts emphasize CRISPR therapies could cause cancer or have unintended consequences. Some critics are concerned about environmental degradation, eugenics, and bioterrorism. But what exactly is CRISPR?

Acronym for "clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats," CRISPR is a DNA sequence family found in the genomes of prokaryotic organisms like bacteria and archaea. These sequences are derived from bacteriophage DNA fragments that previously infected the prokaryote. They are used in subsequent infections to detect and destroy DNA from similar bacteriophages.

What about the kit?

You learn everything you need to know to practice bioengineering in the kit and class. Without prior experience. The class has eight lectures and experiments. The basic kit includes:

  • 0.5-10 uL pipette
  • 10-100 uL pipette
  • 100-1000 uL pipette
  • 0.5-10 uL tips
  •  10-100 uL tips
  • 100-1000 uL tips
  • Microcentrifuge tube rack
  • Petri dishes Scale and weigh boats
  •  Glass bottle
  • Nitrile Gloves
  • Orange film and Blue light
  • Microcentrifuge tubes
  • Inoculation Loops
  • LB agar
  • 50 mL tube for measuring
  • Colored water for pipetting practice
  • Bioluminescent Bacteria Grow Kit
  • GFP Bacteria Kit
  • CRISPR Kit
  • pDusk/ pDawn Biosensors Kit

Who is Jo Zayner?

Jo Zayner is a biohacker, artist, and scientist most known for their self-experimentation and work liberalizing CRISPR and making hands-on genetic engineering approachable to laypeople. At the NASA Ames Space Synthetic Biology Research Center in Mountain View, California, Zayner worked on the development of Martian colony habitats for two years. Zayner considers himself a biohacker and thinks it's important to involve the public in scientific research as opposed to keeping it confined to laboratories. In particular, Zayner found the academic biohacking community to be exclusionary and hierarchical in terms of the personalities who determine what is "safe."

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Biohacking involves using strategies such as nutrition, sleep quality, physical activity, and cognitive stimulation to activate epigenetic modifications and enhance the body's resources, with the goal of improving health and longevity.

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Content: Home » biohacking, reprogramming mind and body to live better

biohacking, reprogramming mind and body to live better

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It’s called “biohacking” and it comes from Silicon Valley. Listen: The long life diet: the longevity formula is calorie restriction …

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It’s called “biohacking” and comes from Silicon Valley.

A relatively new word that comes from the union of “biology” and “hacker” and indicates the attempt to positively influence the functioning of the organism, by hacking, ie trying to “force”, one’s genetic heritage. A strategy to live better and longer launched years ago by Californian top managers and which then spread throughout the world. How to upgrade the “operating system” of the human body? No manipulation, here we are talking about “reprogramming” and new lifestyles. “Our genetic heritage has enormous unexpressed potential that can be activated,” he explains Fabio Piccinidoctor and psychoanalyst, researcher of Food Sciences of theMarche Polytechnic University, author of the book “Biohacking Techniques: how to optimize metabolism to increase health and longevity”. “Biohacking aims to activate epigenetic modifications by awakening dormant genes to enhance the body’s resources.” While genetics studies the structure of DNA, epigenetics the way genes express themselves, i.e. how much they are turned on or off. “We’re talking about a set of strategies that aim to strengthen the body from a physical and mental point of view, first of all through nutrition, sleep quality, physical activity, cognitive stimulation”. One of the pillars of biohacking and the intermittent fasting, Piccini adds, which plans to concentrate the diet in a precise time span of the day (to be followed always under medical supervision). «But it is equally important to take care of sleep, we know very well that sleep debt accelerates aging and that 30-40 percent of people sleep too little. Just as it is essential to check thehydration. Physical training must also be intermittent, with recovery periods in place to allow the muscle layers to rebuild. And then, you have to keep learning something at any age, another pillar of biohacking: studying music or a new language, for example, to counteract cognitive degeneration”.

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THE QUALITY OF LIFE

Sandra Milo is one of the supporters of this well-being and longevity strategy. «I’m lucky, at 90 I’m in full health and I still have a great desire to enjoy life. I don’t know if it’s a matter of genetics, nor do I think there is a “magic formula” of longevity, but I have certainly always been careful to lead a healthy life. There is nothing more beautiful than reaching old age with a smile and in full autonomy », says the actress who baptized the first Biohacking Suite in Rome. “Our mission is not so much to lengthen life but to improve its quality by lowering the rate of morbidity,” explains Dr. Claudio Urbani, specialist in regenerative medicine, neuroscience and stress therapy, head of the longevity center Umb. «Biohacking aims to modify dormant functional responses from non-use, from muscular or cardiovascular function to flexibility. It is about regaining possession of the body and the mind-body axis, starting with stress management». Diagnosing your own state of “aging” involves a series of tests. «The measurement of oxidative stress which measures the quantity of free radicals and indicates any inflammatory states, plethysmography to evaluate the functionality of the microcirculation of the legs, impedancemetry to study body composition, fat and lean mass, nutritional status and hydration level. And only after the check is a tailor-made program created for each person. Among the suggested therapies, there is also that of the cold which stimulates the metabolism and reduces inflammation ».

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Neurofeedback therapy is a biohacking method used to improve mental health, particularly for individuals with ADHD, trauma, and OCD.

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Content: NewsLocal NewsSummit County

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'It saved my life,' ADHD, trauma, OCD patients turn to neurofeedback therapy

Posted at 8:18 AM, Apr 05, 2024
and last updated 2024-04-05 08:18:12-04

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — Cracking the code to wellness is now costing Americans $1.8 trillion annually.

For the average American, that breaks down to more than $5,300 per year.

Those numbers come from the Global Wellness Summit's 2024 trends report.

The report also shows that the global wellness economy, which generated $5.6 trillion in 2022, will continue to surge and reach $8.5 trillion within the next three years.

A driver of those staggering stats is ‘biohacking,’ which is the term for do-it-yourself biology.

It has generated 951 million views on TikTok and over on Google, there's been a 900% increase in searches for ‘biohacking.’

"The way that i like to describe it is using what we know about biology to help us become better versions of ourselves," said Britney Cirillo with Alternative Therapeutics.

‘Biohacking’ can be anything from using a smartwatch to track our heart rate to jumping in an ice bath and neuro-feedback therapy.

The idea behind neuro-feedback therapy is that we can essentially re-train our brain to tackle mental health issues like depression, anxiety, trauma, and OCD, which Emily Dean suffered from for about a decade.

"Was pretty afraid to even leave my house alone. At my worst, I was unable to care for my physical health," said Dean.

Dean ultimately needed to check into the hospital as her mental health declined.

After being discharged, she discovered neurofeedback therapy.

"It completely changed my life," said Dean.

Dean said the sessions at Alternative Therapeutics in Cuyahoga Falls provided relief that medications and traditional therapies could not.

"We're not your average counseling practice," said Cirillo.

Cirillo uses neurofeedback therapy to balance electrical activity in a patient's brain, regulating delta, theta, alpha, and beta levels.

"If any of those brainwaves are being overproduced or underproduced, that will correlate with symptoms that the client is experiencing," said Cirillo.

The goal is to essentially retrain the brain using operant conditioning, a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are rewarded.

"We tell the brain to do a certain thing when it does that certain thing, they're rewarded instantly by that video game that they're playing," Cirillo.

I was so interested in how it works that Cirillo gave me a taste of a typical session.

My goal was to keep the flames of a fire burning bright and the sound of the crackling strong while playing a game on a tablet.

Cirillo was checking to make sure my brain was in an ideal zone.

I only sat there with the tablet for a short time, but a typical therapy session lasts about 20 minutes.

"And so, with more and more practice, the brain starts to recognize what it's supposed to do and it reinforces that pathway, strengthens it to the point that that's their new normal," said Cirillo.

Despite gaining popularity during this ‘biohacking craze,’ neurofeedback therapy is still considered experimental.

"I think it's an interesting phenomenon," said Dr. Robert Lufkin with the USC School of Medicine.

Lufkin said regulating the brain could give people better outcomes when it comes to their mental health.

"I think in my opinion, this can have beneficial effects on an individual," said Lufkin.

Lufkin said regardless of what form of ‘biohacking’ people choose, it's shifting the balance of the doctor-patient relationship.

"It's certainly exploding in recent years, and I think it reflects the fact that all of us as, as patients are taking control of our own health," said Lufkin.

Dean is beyond grateful she gained control.

"Neurofeedback therapy and Alternative Therapeutics saved my life," said Dean.

After completing 20 sessions five years ago, Dean has been able to maintain her progress with a few booster sessions, along with some tools to help her navigate the world.

A world that, for years, Dean navigated with crippling fear.

"Before neurofeedback I was afraid to go to the grocery store alone. Last year, I went to California alone. That is something that I never thought would be possible for me," said Dean.

With insurance companies still considering neurofeedback therapy experimental it is not covered.

However, Cirillo said many of her clients have success when they submit for out of network reimbursement.

On average, people will need about 20 sessions to get the end results they're looking for.

Biohacking focuses on improving quality of life by reducing morbidity through stress management, nutritional therapies, and medical screenings.

Biohacking techniques aim to optimize metabolism, increase health, and longevity through strategies like intermittent fasting, improved sleep quality, hydration, and physical activity, as well as cognitive stimulation and continuous learning.

According to the studies, how does intermittent fasting help?

The goal of the biohacker's approach, besides prolonging life, is to improve the quality of life by lowering the rate of morbidity.

According to the studies, how does intermittent fasting help?

It reduces the risk of lifestyle-related diseases, such as metabolic disorders.

The biohacker's approach aims to optimize health and longevity by activating dormant genes and enhancing the body's resources through strategies such as nutrition, sleep quality, physical activity, and cognitive stimulation.

The practice of biohacking is perceived as a means to achieve high mental performance, creativity, and productivity, particularly in competitive industries like tech, but also raises concerns about its safety and efficacy due to the use of unconventional and sometimes poorly researched methods.

Title:

Content: New superhuman brains.
About drugs that make you smarter and more miserable!
Entrepreneur and programmer Dave Asbury ’ s mornings may not seem different at first glance than anyone else ’ s.
Dave wakes up and takes his young children to school, then comes home and makes himself a breakfast of coffee and butter.
Then, he walks into his office, reaches out to a corner, pulls several capsules out of boxes that look like medicine, and then starts working.
[1] Here it is.
Everything is normal, until we discover that the capsules he takes are not really drugs, but drugs.
Dave ’ s use of these drugs cannot be considered strange: throughout human history, before civilizations even existed, drugs accompanied humans.
For the damage that may lead the individual to death, some found in them an escape from the worries and burdens of life, although the price they will pay for this is high.
What is really strange is that what Dave, and many others, want from taking a certain type of drug is the complete opposite of all this; he doesn ’ t want to get away with it every morning; he wants to indulge more in it and manipulate it to his advantage; he wants to become smarter, more productive, richer.
Dave ’ s drugs are neither weed nor opioid, nor are they similar to any other familiar drug, Dave taking nootropics, or “smart ” drugs.
The chemist C.C. didn't have a clue.
Giragia Yuma said that the word he invented as the name for the drug Pristam, which he installed in his laboratory one day in 1964, would become so popular 60 years later.
The name of this compound came from the combination of the Greek words "nos", which means brain, and "tropin", which means "me," and created in his laboratory the first drug that he hopes will succeed in bending the brain of those who use it.
[2] Like any medicine.
Another, Gergea designed the prestam as a treatment, and he hoped it would help patients with brain and cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer ’ s in the elderly and speech disorders in children.
But most Nutrobix users now are often completely healthy individuals with no brain abnormality, and do not aim to cure themselves of a disease.
[3]
Smart drug users are also different from any other type of drug users: they are not marginalized groups or young Magna people who dose drugs in dark dens or raucous parties; nootropics are some of the world ’ s finest college students and some of the brightest tech minds in Silicon Valley, the tech heartland of San Francisco.
By taking drugs that are mostly made for people with cognitive disorders as a result of mental illness, these brilliant students and programmers want to enhance their ability to learn, focus and think creatively to become smarter, which seems to be happening under the influence of these drugs.
Phoebe, a history student at a prestigious university in England, describes the impact of nootropics on her in an interview with The Guardian: “These drugs help you work, so you can study longer without distractions.
You feel like going to the library on your own, and you don ’ t even want to take a lunch break.
You look at the clock and it ’ s 7: 00 p.m., but you can still keep going. ”
Johnny, a student at the same university, describes his first experience with drugs: "I had a strange feeling, I remember sitting in the exam and thinking, 'This is terrible!
Oh, my God!
I feel as if I ’ m going to lose consciousness, ” but at the same time I could remember everything, whole paragraphs remembered word for word.
That was great. "[4]
It all sounds really cool, taking a few pills in the morning gives you an incredible ability to work and think.
But, as anyone who has ever taken a drug knows, every drug has side effects that range in severity, from mild things like a headache to symptoms as severe as the disease for which you took it, and additional drugs have to be taken to treat it.
So what are the side effects of entropy?
There aren ’ t enough studies to answer this question, but many people ’ s long-term experience with Nutrobox has never been promising.
Writer and journalist Kate Miller tells her story with those drugs that she started taking after a student in her final year of university, continuing with her after entering her career.
At first, everything seemed great, she found that she could concentrate for long hours and work tirelessly until late at night, and with all this, she was able to maintain a good social life.
But not long after, the ugly face of Nootropics revealed itself to her: Kate became an addict.
In her New York Times article, Kate recounts what she went through: “I was fooling myself when I thought I could stay balanced while taking these drugs, when I thought the benefits outweighed the harm.
I started to increase the doses I was taking, and then, I found myself spending long nights flipping over in bed and falling asleep, my mind racing and my heart beating violently.
When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I did was reach out to take the pills again.
My body started getting used to these drugs, and then I lost their effect, so I started to increase the dose.
I would take it if I found myself yawning after I turned off the alarm.
I turned into a wreck, always angry and lost my ability to connect with the world. ”
Kate reached the point where she found her life was falling apart on all levels, and here came her decision to stop taking those drugs once and for all.
But what no one has told her is that stopping itself will be difficult, as nitrobix, like other drugs, leaves its users at the beginning of quitting defenseless in front of a barrage of painful withdrawal symptoms.
“I found myself sleeping during meetings and I couldn ’ t finish my work before the deadline.
I also began to feel very hungry and began to eat heavily.
This disorder left me with a very fragile and sensitive brain chemistry, and my weight gain and late work only made matters worse.
It was hard for me to understand at the time that what I was going through was withdrawal symptoms; no one had warned me about the side effects of these drugs. ”
Phoebe and Jonny, students who had been helped by Nootropics during the exam period, soon noticed the bad effect on them; Phoebe began to feel severe pain in her stomach, and Jimmy felt that he was becoming too dependent on her for everything, and he ate it every morning without really needing it.
Fortunately, before they went through Kate ’ s bad experience, the Taliban gave up Nutropics altogether.
Even Dave Asbury, an entrepreneur who takes huge amounts of nootropics every morning and founded a company that makes coffee mixed with the drugs, has developed a severe allergy to certain foods that he has been eating normally throughout his life.
In a paper in the journal Clinical Neuroscience, researchers Farid Taleh and Jane Aglotti found that many Nutrobix drugs cause side effects ranging in severity from diarrhea, headaches, dizziness and insomnia, to memory loss, identity disorders and motor system deficiencies.
The research also included a case study of four individuals between the ages of 17 and 28 who were taken to the hospital emergency room after a nervous breakdown. [6] Here, we find ourselves faced with a more important question: Why would people with high levels of intelligence resort to drugs that may add to their intelligence even deeper, but they may also have side effects that no one knows are serious?
[7]
Tim Farris, an entrepreneur and renowned author of human development books, has no real qualms about the long-term side effects of nootropics.
Speaking to CNN, after he started talking about the amount of pressure entrepreneurs are under today, he concluded: “Just like an Olympian who is willing to do anything, even if he reduces his age to five years, to win a gold medal, you ’ ll think about any drugs you take to become smarter. ”
[8]
Jeff Wu, a software engineer who set up a company that specializes in manufacturing nootropics, goes on to say, “Creativity and high mental performance are the only ways you can succeed in Silicon Valley.
I liken tech and finance to professional athletes, so the only way for your team, product or project to be successful is to have a comparative advantage over competitors. ”
It ’ s not just the tech industry, Wu adds: “To become smarter and more productive is to meet modern day standards of success. ”
If some people seem willing to swallow poorly researched drugs without suffering from a real disease just to increase their ability to produce something strange, you ’ ve never heard of the term and the practices that these drugs and many other strange practices include: body hacking, or “biohacking. ”
As a programmer or engineer might look at a computer looking for ways to develop it, biohackers are trying through methods that vary in extremes, from intermittent fasting to injecting themselves with stem cells, to make their bodies and brains better, stronger, healthier.
At first glance, this may not seem like a bad thing, so who wouldn ’ t want to be the best possible version of themselves?
But what ’ s interesting about this is that their desire to develop their bodies and brains stops at the point where these bodies and brains are more productive, and does not go beyond them to other areas of life, where none of the body hackers, for example, thought about creating a drug that by taking it more willing to help others in their distress.
Faced with the large number of people who are willing to take Nutropics to increase their production capacity, neuroscientist Anders Sandberg found in a study that only 9% of people are willing to take a drug that makes them more empathetic or kinder.
This increased use of nootropics and the willingness to manipulate the very composition of the body in order to increase production is itself a symptom of a civilizational disease that envelops our world today: the obsession with success at any cost.
The Guardian ’ s Carol Gadwallar says of this: “In the 1960s, sedatives were known as the little helper of mothers.
Today, however, Futropics is a small aid to capitalism.
“It ’ s just another symptom of a world dominated by competition where everyone is looking for a comparative advantage that puts them above others. ”
[10] Neuroscientist Anjan Chatterjee says: "Today, from the moment of their birth until their death, people only know about running in a rat race.
We are overwhelmed by the feeling that there are a limited number of prizes on the horizon and that everyone is competing for them.
It ’ s hard and you ’ re willing to do anything to win. ”
[11]
In this world governed by machines and numbers, we are also expected to become machines: machines that wake up in the morning and work tirelessly until evening falls, and everything is ultimately governed by numbers.
How successful you are depends on how much you produce each day, which at the end of the month will translate into how much you make.
Your salary or wealth is no longer just a means to provide you with a decent life, but has become a kind of obsession, everyone wants to be successful in a modern culture that values only material values, and defies those who fail the test of making money.
In such a culture, it is not surprising to find people willing to swallow drugs with unknown side effects in order to be better.
Isn ’ t that, in one way or another, what modern culture imposes on us all today, working to burn and losing some of life ’ s simplest pleasures just to live properly and escape the stigma of failure?
The question remains: Is there then a relentless pursuit of success, what kind of happiness?
Or is the summit nothing more than a glittering image of something really empty and cold and lonely?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sources:
1.
I ’ m The Guy Who Created Bulletproof Coffee – This Is My Morning Routine
2.
Nootropic
3.
Under pressure, Silicon Valley workers turn to LSD microdosing
4.
Students used to take drugs to get high.
Now they take them to get higher grades
5.
The Last All-Nighter
6.
Probable Nootropicinduced Psychiatric Adverse Effects: A Series of Four Cases
7.
My smart drugs nightmare
8. smart drugs: what silicon valley is on
9.
Under Pressure: Silicon Valley workers turn to lsd
10.
Students used to take drugs to get high.
Now they take them to get higher grades
11.
Under Pressure: Silicon Valley workers turn to lsd
Source: The Island
About this story
“Narcissism ” is a widespread term, often misused to describe anyone who abuses us.
But in fact, a little bit of narcissism will do you good -- this report looks at the evolution of the concept of narcissism over the past decades.
6 / 10 / 2017
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