<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><div style="font-family:trebuchet ms,sans-serif;font-size:small" class="gmail_default"><span><font><b>The Institute for Ethics in Public Life invites you to join us for "Should We Be Biohacking Ourselves?" In-person or on Zoom.</b></font></span><span><div><div id="m_-372028430361441368gmail-xDetDlgDesc"><span><font> </font><br><font>A recent wellness trend is "biohacking." Popularized by tech entrepreneurs, athletes, and health influencers, "biohacking" includes a <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/biohacking&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1772046503419752&usg=AOvVaw2rGx5XoErkctcYPjQlt4Vh" target="_blank">broad range of self-improvement practices</a> intended to improve physical or mental performance by making changes to diet, lifestyle, or body. It is sometimes characterized as "do-it-yourself biology" because practitioners often engage in practices that may be scientifically dubious or even outright dangerous on their own rather than as part of a medically supervised treatment program. </font><br><font> </font><br><font>Much "biohacking" involves broadly sensible actions such as making sure we get enough sleep, exercising regularly, ensuring our diet is rich in nutrients and fiber, limiting or eliminating drug and alcohol consumption, and </font><span><font>engaging in mind-body practices like meditation</font></span><font>. It also often involves using biofeedback devices like smartwatches and rings to monitor sleep, heart rate, and activity levels. </font><br><font> </font><br><font>However, many biohackers also engage in more extreme practices. Some, such as ice baths, saunas, high-intensity interval training, and intermittent fasting have documented health benefits but can be dangerous to some individuals (e.g. the elderly, pregnant or breastfeeding women, immunocompromised people). Others, including <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/01/silicon-valley-extreme-diets-fasting/581566/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1772046503419752&usg=AOvVaw2NEPEqAmyS9tX223udxval" target="_blank">more extreme fasting or diets</a> taking <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/news/11057974/nootropics-biohacking-and-silicon-valleys-pursuit-of-productivity&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1772046503419752&usg=AOvVaw3jMPqULa_QU7RrX8eXwOaY" target="_blank">nootropics</a> or <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.safewise.com/news/biohacking-is-trendy-but-could-make-you-sick/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1772046503419752&usg=AOvVaw0Cm7VtBxcAuca-B2xelWl0" target="_blank">"stacks" of supplements</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/bryan-johnsons-bloodless-experiment-to-live-forever-what-is-behind-the-billionaire-biohackers-plasma-purge/articleshow/121240548.cms&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1772046503419752&usg=AOvVaw145eyzjTlfQKnSFjqqSwyo" target="_blank">transfusions</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/aaron-traywick-death-ascendance-biomedical/559745/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1772046503419752&usg=AOvVaw1VyBPmV8ZpfOOVqLuMdixu" target="_blank">experimenting with medications</a>, and <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/02/biohacking-stunts-crispr/553511/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1772046503419752&usg=AOvVaw1vwIGt5Ve1PKaT1y9zK-5f" target="_blank">trying to modify our DNA </a>can be quite dangerous. </font><br><font> </font><br><font>A complicating factor is the amount of money that can be by promoting biohacking. For example, one estimate is that <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/02/longevity-medicine-profit-oversold/686049/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1772046503419752&usg=AOvVaw2RFhys6APNPPl7is24QI4x" target="_blank">"by 2030. $8 trillion might be spent annually on longevity-related products."</a> The potential for scams is extreme because much of this is unregulated. </font><br><font> </font><br><font>Please join us for a conversation on this practice, its potential and risks, and whether (if possible) these activities should be regulated more.</font><br><font> </font><br><span><span>Please join us in-person in the Thomas Moran Seminar Room (Hawkins 233) or on Zoom. </span></span><font> </font><br><br>Topic: Bio-hacking<br>Time: Feb 25, 2026 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)<br>Join Zoom Meeting<br><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/85099818711&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1772046503419752&usg=AOvVaw2Xr-JHdni61XQagfr78Sq6" target="_blank">https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/85099818711</a><br><br>Meeting ID: 850 9981 8711</span></div></div></span>

</div><br clear="all"></div><br><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><b><font size="2">Daniel Lake</font></b></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">(pronouns: he/him/his)<br></font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">Professor of Political Science</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">Director, Institute for Ethics in Public Life<br></font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">Hawkins 149A</font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2"><a href="https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">101 Broad Street</a></font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2"><a href="https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Plattsburgh, NY 12901</a></font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><font size="2">(o) <a href="tel:(518)%5645833" value="+15185642217" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">518-564-5833</a></font></p><p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;line-height:normal;font-family:Arial"><b><font size="2"><a href="http://plattsburgh.edu/" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">plattsburgh.edu</a></font></b><br></p></div><div dir="ltr"><img src="https://web.plattsburgh.edu/files/914/images/SUNY-Plattsburgh-Email-Logo-2018.jpg"><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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