If I were to pick the most provocative technologies offered by modern biology, they would undoubtedly be Gene Drive and Synthetic Biology. These technologies—which can rapidly spread a specific gene through an entire species to eradicate pests or assemble entirely new organisms in a lab—seem to announce that humanity has finally taken the “steering wheel…

Modern biology is now expanding its influence beyond “treatment” into the realm of “prevention.” As data becomes more vast and precise, we believe we can predict future diseases that have not yet manifested and block them in advance. However, a fundamental question arises: if it is an undeniable fact that we “cannot know everything” about…

Reading recent reports in the biological sciences, I often encounter strikingly assertive terms: “Complete determination of individual genomic sequences,” “Conversion into discrete digital data,” and “Overwhelmingly precise comprehensiveness.” Looking at these flamboyant rhetorics brought about by technological progress, it feels as though humanity has finally conquered the grand puzzle that is the blueprint of life.…

The world of bioinformatics stands upon a massive contradiction. My DNA belongs to me, yet the moment it is converted into digital information, I lose my sovereignty. Corporations lock data away in vaults, while scientists distribute the tools to open those vaults for free. In this strange ecosystem, whose hand is it that sets the…

“This source code is open source.” This sentence means more than just that anyone can view the source; it signifies the existence of ‘rules’ for handling the intellectual property contained within. Much like a public park where anyone can enter but no one is allowed to litter or cut down trees at will, the world…