A hobbyist who tinkers with DNA and other aspects of genetics.

Robotics is hardly the only emergent industry that can expect the embrace of the techno-enthusiast. Maybe bathtub biotech will be next to capture the mindshare of the techie tinkerers. Maybe bioinformatics and the diffusion of genetic engineering technologies and techniques will inspire a new generation of biohackers. Certainly the technologies are there for those inclined to genetically edit their plants or pets. Maybe a mouse or E. coli genome becomes the next operating system for hobbyists to profitably twiddle. Perhaps this decade will bring a Linus Torvalds or Bill Gates of biohackerdom—a hobbyist who turns into an entrepreneur who can simultaneously innovate and market his or her DNA-driven ideas.

1. A potentially dangerous infectious agent such as may be found in a clinical microbiology laboratory or used in experimental studies on genetic recombination.
2. Potential danger from biological sources, as opposed to chemical or mechanical dangers.
3. A risk to human beings or their environment, especially one presented by a toxic or infectious agent.

1. A reef, such as a coral reef, formed from organic material.
2. A mound-like accumulation of fossil remains on the site where organisms lived.
3. A mound, dome, or reeflike mass of rock that is composed almost exclusively of the remains of sedentary marine organisms and is embedded in rock of different physical character.

Any limestone formed of debris from a bioherm, often found in reef cores.

Pertaining to the action of water and solutions in living tissue.

1. The study of the interaction between plant and animal life and water cycles.
2. The science of solution action in living tissue.
3. The study of the interactions between water, plants, and animals, including the effects of water on biota as well as the physical and chemical changes in water or its environment produced by biota.

Denoting a prosthesis made of biosynthetic material.

1. The study of the applications of computer and statistical techniques to the management of biological information. In genome projects, bioinformatics includes the development of methods to search databases quickly, to analyze DNA sequence information, and to predict protein sequence and structure from DNA sequence data.
2. The application of computer technology to the management of biological information. Specifically, it is the science of developing computer databases and algorithms to facilitate and expedite biological research, particularly in genomics.
3. A scientific discipline that includes all aspects of the gathering, storing, handling, analyzing, interpreting and the spreading of biological information. It involves powerful computers and innovative programs that handle vast amounts of coding information on genes and proteins from genomics programs. It comprises the development and application of computational algorithms for the purpose of analysis, interpretation, and prediction of data for the design of experiments in the biosciences.

1. A sensor or device usually attached to or embedded in the human body or other living animal to record and to transmit physiologic data to a receiving and monitoring station.
2. Devices for recording and transmitting physiological data or to display information about the body’s functions.

1. The study of the growth changes and movements that developing organisms undergo.
2. The science of the movements within developing organisms.

1. The study of the biological underpinnings of language such as the factors that enhance or retard language development and the neurophysiology of language disorders.
2. The study of language functions as related to or derived from biological characteristics of an organism.

The technique of introducing DNA into a cell by firing minute DNA-coated particles (for example, of gold) into the cell using a device powered by pressurized helium (the ballistic gun or “gene gun”).