Biopunk (a portmanteau of " biotechnology" or " biology" and " punk") is a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on biotechnology. It is derived from cyberpunk, but focuses on the implications of biotechnology rather than mechanical cyberware and information technology. Biopunk is concerned with synthetic biology. It is derived of cyberpunk involving bio-hackers, biotech megacorporations, and oppressive government agencies that manipulate human DNA. Most often keeping with the dark atmosphere of cyberpunk, biopunk generally examines the dark side of

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

and represents the low side of biotechnology.

Description

Biopunk is a subgenre of science fiction closely related to cyberpunk that focuses on the near-future (most often unintended) consequences of the biotechnology revolution following the invention of recombinant DNA. Biopunk stories explore the struggles of individuals or groups, often the product of human experimentation, against a typically

dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

backdrop of totalitarian governments and megacorporations which misuse biotechnologies as means of social control and profiteering. Unlike cyberpunk, it builds not on information technology, but on synthetic biology. Like in postcyberpunk fiction, individuals are usually

modified Modified may refer to: * ''Modified'' (album), the second full-length album by Save Ferris * Modified racing, or "Modifieds", an American automobile racing genre See also * Modification (disambiguation) * Modifier (disambiguation) Modifier may ...

and enhanced not with cyberware, but by genetic manipulation. A common feature of biopunk fiction is the "black clinic", which is a laboratory, clinic, or hospital that performs illegal, unregulated, or ethically-dubious biological modification and

procedures. Many features of biopunk fiction have their roots in William Gibson's '' Neuromancer'', one of the first cyberpunk novels. One of the prominent writers in this field is Paul Di Filippo, though he called his collection of such stories ribofunk, a blend of "

ribosome Ribosomes ( ) are macromolecular machines, found within all cells, that perform biological protein synthesis (mRNA translation). Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order specified by the codons of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules to ...

" and "

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

". In ''RIBOFUNK: The Manifesto'', Di Filippo wrote: Di Filippo suggests that precursors of biopunk fiction include H. G. Wells' ''

The Island of Doctor Moreau ''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' is an 1896 science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells (1866–1946). The text of the novel is the narration of Edward Prendick who is a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat. He is left on the island ...

'';

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist, and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth century modern synthesis. ...

's ''

The Tissue-Culture King ''The Tissue-Culture King'' (1926 in ''Cornhill Magazine'' and in ''The Yale Review'', reprinted 1927 in ''Amazing Stories'' and many times afterwards) is a science fiction short story by biologist Julian Huxley. The story tells of a biologist cap ...

''; some of David H. Keller's stories, Damon Knight's ''Natural State and Other Stories'';

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...

and Cyril M. Kornbluth's '' Gravy Planet''; novels of T. J. Bass and

John Varley John Varley may refer to: * John Varley (canal engineer) (1740–1809), English canal engineer * John Varley (painter) (1778–1842), English painter and astrologer * John Varley (author) (born 1947), American science fiction author * John Silvest ...

; Greg Bear's '' Blood Music'' and

Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...

's '' Schismatrix''. The stories of Cordwainer Smith, including his first and most famous ''

Scanners Live in Vain "Scanners Live in Vain" is a science fiction short story by American writer Cordwainer Smith (pen name of American writer Paul Linebarger). It was the first story in Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind future history to be published and the fir ...

'', also foreshadow biopunk themes. In Brazil, the biopunk movement was popularized in 2020 with the book ''O Último Ruivo'', written by Clayton De La Vie, which portrays a reality where society has greatly improved medically and is able to eradicate nearly all diseases in the world, at the cost of widespread ethnic cleansing and genocide. The chaotic scenario is replaced by an oppressive and fear-laden environment on the part of a coerced population.

References

External links

Hackteria.org
a community for bio-artists {{Film genres Biology and culture Biocybernetics Bioinformatics Molecular genetics Postmodernism Science fiction genres Synthetic biology Systems biology Subcultures Transhumanism 1990s neologisms