View source for Biopunk

{{Short description|Science fiction genre that focuses on technological use of life studies}}
{{About|dystopian cyberpunk and science fiction subgenre|real-life citizen science and advocacy movement|Do-it-yourself biology}}
[[Image:Ribofunk cover.gif|thumb|right|200px|Cover of ''Ribofunk'' by [[Paul Di Filippo]], a seminal biopunk story collection]]
'''Biopunk''' (a [[portmanteau]] of "[[biotechnology]]" or "[[biology]]" and "[[punk subculture|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 [[Mechanism (engineering)|mechanical]] [[cyberware]] and [[information technology]].<ref name="Quinion 1997">{{cite journal| author = Quinion, Michael| title = World Wide Words: Biopunk| year = 1997 | url = http://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-bio3.htm|website=Worldwidewords.org| access-date=2007-01-26}}</ref> Biopunk is concerned with [[synthetic biology]]. It is derived from cyberpunk and often involves [[Do-it-yourself biology|bio-hackers]], biotech [[megacorporation]]s, and oppressive organizations that [[Genetic engineering in science fiction|engineer]] [[DNA]]. Most often keeping with the dark atmosphere of cyberpunk, biopunk generally examines risks and downsides of [[genetic engineering]] and illustrates potential perils of biotechnologies.

==Description==
Biopunk is a subgenre of science fiction closely related to cyberpunk that focuses on the near-future (most often [[unintended consequences|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 subject research|human experimentation]], against a typically [[dystopian]] backdrop of [[totalitarian]] governments or megacorporations which misuse biotechnologies as means of [[social control]] and [[profiteering (business)|profiteering]]. Often, the fruits of biotechnology, such as human enhancement and [[Life extension|extended longevity]], are not evenly distributed and are controlled by corporations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pisarski |first1=Mariusz |title=Prometheus the biohacker? Mythical grammar in the discourse of bioscience after the CRISPR revolution |url=https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/54711/external_content.pdf?sequence=1#page=125}}</ref> Unlike cyberpunk, it builds not on [[information technology]], but on synthetic biology. Like in [[postcyberpunk]] fiction, individuals are often [[body modification|modified]] and [[human enhancement|enhanced]] not with [[cyberware]], but [[human genetic engineering|by genetic manipulation]].<ref name="Quinion 1997"/> 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 genetic engineering procedures.<ref name="Pulver 1998">{{cite book| author = Pulver, David L. | title = GURPS Bio-Tech| publisher=[[Steve Jackson Games]] | year=1998 | isbn=978-1-55634-336-0| author-link= David L. Pulver| title-link = GURPS Bio-Tech}}</ref>

Many features of biopunk fiction have their roots in [[William Gibson]]'s ''[[Neuromancer]]'', one of the first cyberpunk novels.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0006/biopunk.php|title=Fleshing Out the Maelstrom: Biopunk and the Violence of Information|author=Paul Taylor|journal=M/C Journal |date=June 2000 |volume=3 |issue=3 |publisher=Journal of Media and Culture|doi=10.5204/mcj.1853 |doi-access=free }}</ref> 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]]" and "[[funk]]".<ref name="Fisher 1996">{{cite magazine| author = Fisher, Jeffrey| title = Ribofunk| magazine = Wired| year = 1996 | url = https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.11/ribopunk_pr.html| access-date=2007-01-26}}</ref><ref name="Di Filippo 1998">{{cite web| author = Di Filippo, Paul | title =  RIBOFUNK: The Manifesto | year = 1998 | url = http://www.streettech.com/bcp/BCPtext/Manifestos/Ribofunk.html |website=Streettech.com| access-date=2011-01-05 | author-link = Paul Di Filippo}}</ref> Di Filippo suggests that precursors of biopunk fiction include [[H. G. Wells]]' ''[[The Island of Doctor Moreau]]''; [[Julian Huxley]]'s ''[[The Tissue-Culture King]]''; some of [[David H. Keller]]'s stories, [[Damon Knight]]'s ''Natural State and Other Stories''; [[Frederik Pohl]] and [[Cyril M. Kornbluth]]'s ''[[The Space Merchants|Gravy Planet]]''; novels of [[T. J. Bass (author)|T. J. Bass]] and [[John Varley (author)|John Varley]]; [[Greg Bear]]'s ''[[Blood Music (novel)|Blood Music]]''; [[Bruce Sterling]]'s ''[[Schismatrix]]'' and ''[[Autonomous (novel)|Autonomous]]'' by [[Annalee Newitz]].<ref name="Di Filippo 1998" /> The stories of [[Cordwainer Smith]], including his first and most famous ''[[Scanners Live in Vain]]'', also foreshadow biopunk themes.<ref>Gary K. Wolfe and Carol T. Williams, "The Majesty of Kindness: The Dialectic of Cordwainer Smith". In Thomas D. Clareson, editor, ''Voices for the Future: Essays on Major Science Fiction Writers'', Volume 3. Popular Press, 1983, pp. 53–72</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/Bio-Tech/bibliography.html|title=GURPS Bio-Tech – Bibliography|website=Sjgames.com|access-date=18 December 2021}}</ref>  Another example is the ''[[The New Jedi Order|New Jedi Order]]'' series published from 1999 to 2003, which prominently feature the Yuuzhan Vong who exclusively use biotechnology.

==See also==
{{Portal|Society|Speculative fiction}}
{{Div col}}
* [[List of biopunk works]]
* [[Bioeconomy]]
* [[Climate fiction]]
* [[Cyberpunk derivatives]]
** [[Nanopunk]]
** [[Dieselpunk]]
** [[Steampunk]]
** [[Solarpunk]]
* [[Genetic engineering in fiction]]
* [[Grinder (biohacking)]]
* [[Human enhancement]]
* [[Transhumanism]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Biopunk}}
<!--todo-->
* [http://www.hackteria.org/ Hackteria.org], a community for bio-artists

{{Cyberpunk and derivatives|state=expand}}
{{Science fiction}}
{{Fantasy fiction}}
{{Film genres}}

[[Category:Biopunk| ]]
[[Category:Biology and culture]]
[[Category:Biocybernetics]]
[[Category:Bioinformatics]]
[[Category:Molecular genetics]]
[[Category:Postmodernism]]
[[Category:Science fiction genres]]
[[Category:Synthetic biology]]
[[Category:Systems biology]]
[[Category:Subcultures]]
[[Category:Transhumanism]]
[[Category:1990s neologisms]]