Hacking genomes. The ethics of open and rebel biology

Authors

  • Alessandro Delfant

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29173/irie223

Abstract

A new open science culture is emerging within the current system of the life sciences. This culture mixes an ethic of sharing with features such as anti-bureaucracy rebellion, hedonism, search for profit. It is a recombination of an old culture, the Mertonian ethos of modern open science, and a new one: the hacker ethic. This new culture has an important role in the evolving relationship between science and society. And it maintains a political ambivalence. Biohackers are rebel scientists and open access advocates who challenge today’s Big Bio’s concentration of power. But at the same time they live in a new territory of accumulation that never excludes entrepreneurship and profit.

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Published

2011-09-01

How to Cite

Delfant, Alessandro. 2011. “Hacking Genomes. The Ethics of Open and Rebel Biology”. The International Review of Information Ethics 15 (September). Edmonton, Canada:52-57. https://doi.org/10.29173/irie223.