Science fiction genre that focuses on technological use of life studies
This article is about dystopian cyberpunk and science fiction subgenre. For real-life citizen science and advocacy movement, seeDo-it-yourself biology.
Cover ofRibofunk byPaul Di Filippo, a seminal biopunk story collection
Biopunk is a subgenre of science fiction closely related to cyberpunk that focuses on the near-future (most oftenunintended) consequences of thebiotechnology revolution following the invention ofrecombinant DNA. Biopunk stories explore the struggles of individuals or groups, often the product ofhuman experimentation, against a typicallydystopian backdrop oftotalitarian governments or megacorporations which misuse biotechnologies as means ofsocial control andprofiteering. Often, the fruits of biotechnology, such as human enhancement andextended longevity, are not evenly distributed and are controlled by corporations.[2] Unlike cyberpunk, it builds not oninformation technology, but on synthetic biology. Like inpostcyberpunk fiction, individuals are oftenmodified andenhanced not withcyberware, butby genetic manipulation.[1] 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.[3]
^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
