Biohacking

It has been awhile since my last post, so first of all I am excited to announce that I have opened a Microbial Mood Society6 online shop! Now you may buy cyanotype scanning electron microscope images on prints, stickers, and even cutting boards! Check it out here: https://society6.com/microbial_mood

Aside from opening a shop, I have also recently been working on my own biohacking. Biohacking is loosely defined as “biological experimentation…done to improve the qualities or capabilities of living organisms especially by individuals and groups working outside a traditional medical or scientific research environment” (Merriam-Webster). This means that even an act so simple as taking dietary supplements can be termed “biohacking.” Typically, those who title themselves biohackers tend to be in favor of the democratization of science and like to see if they can get around the walls that seem to surround it. Biohacking tends to mingle and merge with bioart in that they both dabble on the fringes of conventional science, and often involve an individual experimenting on their own physiology.

For my part, I began taking some dietary supplements that happen to correspond to my area of bioart research (in that they could potentially modulate my microbiome). One of these supplements is a spore-based probiotic:

Oftentimes probiotic supplements have the pitfall that the bacteria which is meant to travel to the lower digestive tract is killed by the stomach acids, never to make it to its intended destination. The advantage of spore-based probiotics is that they (theoretically) can survive the stomach acids and thus flourish where they are supposed to: in the lower intestines.

I was curious what would happen if I let some of the spores grow on an agar plate for a few weeks, and the results were surprisingly underwhelming:

Spore-based probiotics on agar day 1

Same plate, about one month later

The other supplement I have been taking is called Whole B, which is a fermented solution of a variety of B vitamins. B vitamins are a broad class of small molecules that all are important to cell metabolism (in other words, energy production), and they are furthermore an important factor driving the dynamics of the microbiome.

Here are the pictures of the fermented solution on the agar plate, the first day and then four weeks later:

Whole B in agar, day one

Whole B in agar, one month later

I cannot say for sure if it is because of either of these supplements, but my mood and energy levels have been better recently then I ever remember them being! Have any of you had experience with these supplements, or others, or biohacking in general? If so, please share in the comments section below.