CodeCon - a new breed of hacker

Your genetic makeup could be the newest code to crack for a new species of hackers. The hackers’ conference CodeCon has added a new category for this year’s conference: biohacking. This new section will showcase the work of people who are using the latest biotechnology to create their own genetically modified organisms.

CodeCon began in 2002 as a conference where computer coders presented and demonstrated the various projects they had been working on. Of the various projects presented, BIttorrent is one of the best known. This year’s conference will be held in San Francisco at Cellspace and begins tomorrow. The new track includes presentations by the members of DIYbio, an organization of DIYer focused on the exploration of genetic engineering.

The term “biotechnology” may make more sense than you think. The similarities between computer coding and genetic coding has some people thinking that the next hot field of development may be in designing and building new life forms.

Genetic code and computer code both have very simple basic components. For DNA the most basic components are the proteins: A, T, C and G. For computers, one’s and zero’s. The way in which these basic components are arranged dictate the form and function of the system they code for. A certain configuration of the proteins results in black hair and brown eyes just as the specific way one’s and zero’s are put together make up a computer. With the wealth of knowledge scientists have gathered about genetic code and the traits it codes for, the progress of biology is increasingly expressing the developing characteristics of the computer technology.

The onset of organizations such as the Personal Genome Project, 23andme.com and DIYbio reflect the sophistication with which scientists – amateur or professional – can now work with DNA. The standardization of genetic information makes the manipulation and creation of unique life systems easier. MIT has a growing registry of what has come to be called “biobricks.” Each biobrick begins and ends with an easily recognizable sequence of proteins and codes for a distinct trait. Equipped with these building blocks, scientists can conceivably build their own life forms.

That’s exactly what the young competitors at MIT’s International Genetically Engineered Machines Competition are attempting. For the past 5 years, teams of undergraduates from universities all over the world go to Boston where they compete to create science projects out of the genetic material provided from MIT’s registry of genetic traits. The winning team last year was Slovenia, which developed a vaccine for Helicobacter pylori.

This area of biotechnology, dubbed synthetic biology, will be the playground of presentors who registered in the biohacker category of CodeCon. Tomorrow’s presenters will be presenting the basics of biohacking and showcasing some new techniques such as running gels in straws – something dubbed Keiko gels. The conference will span the length of 3 days and while online tickets are no longer available, tickets will be at available at door. $90 will get you a glimpse of the future of genetic coding.