Biopunk is a subgenre of the science fiction subgenre cyberpunk that focuses on biotechnology rather than the mechanical cyberware and information technology cyberpunk itself emphasizes, examining the implications of synthetic biology and genetic manipulation by powerful entities. Its recurring figures include bio-hackers, biotech megacorporations and oppressive organizations that engineer DNA, and in keeping with cyberpunk's pessimistic tone, the genre generally takes a critical stance toward biotechnology, examining the risks and downsides of genetic engineering and illustrating potential perils of the technologies it imagines.
Facts
Place of OriginCzechoslovakia, where the term was coined in 1988 by science fiction writer and biologist Eva Hauserova 1 Notable ExamplePaul Di Filippo's story collection Ribofunk (1996) 1 Defining TraitBiopunk fiction focuses on biotechnology, distinguishing it from cyberpunk's focus on computer and information technology. 1 Connections
Sources
1. Biopunk (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
is a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on biotechnology.
History section
The first to use the portmanteau was a Czech science fiction writer and biologist Eva Hauserova in 1988, for a subgenre developed as a response to cyberpunk in the conditions of the decaying real socialism, or slightly later, post-communism.
image caption, Literature section
Ribofunk by Paul Di Filippo, a seminal biopunk story collection
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