BIOHACKERS AT

August 4th - 7th, 2016
Las Vegas, Nevada
See defcon.org for general conference information.

Speaker Schedule

Presentations will be located at Bally's - Indigo Tower - 26th floor - Skyview 4

Friday

10:00 : Future Grind

Speaker: Ryan O'Shea


About Ryan O'Shea:
Ryan O’Shea is a futurist, biohacker, and television personality based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is the creator and host of the acclaimed futurism, science, and technology themed podcast Future Grind and currently serves as the spokesman and advisor of Grindhouse Wetware, a biotechnology startup company that creates technology to augment human capabilities. He's worked as a producer and consultant on numerous film and television projects related to biohacking and currently represents the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a Solar System Ambassador, a program operated by the California Institute of Technology for NASA.

Abstract:
Biohacking is moving from niche science fiction to popular culture, the human body is now a part of the Internet of Things, and finger magnet and RFID implants are gaining traction. But this is just the beginning. Futurist podcast host and Grindhouse Wetware spokesman Ryan O'Shea lays out the potential future of human augmentation and explains how this type of directed evolution is really just an extension of what humans have already been doing for generations.


10:30 : Fancy Dancy Implanty

Speaker: Amal Graafstra
@amal
dangerousthings.com

About Amal:
Adventure technologist and biohacker Amal Graafstra has always been interested in technology. In 2005 he became the world’s first double RFID implantee. Amal had two small RFID transponders implanted, one into each hand, and he still uses them to open doors, start his vehicles, and log into his computer. Since implanting himself, he’s written a book called RFID Toys, become a TEDx speaker, appeared on a multitude of television programs, and been the subject of various documentaries. He's also started a biohacking company called Dangerous Things which developed the world’s first and only NFC compliant implantable transponder. He continues to explore biohacking and transhumanism while developing next generation implantable technologies.

Abstract:
Amal covers the rise of biohacking, implantables, and the future of biohacking.


11:00 : Biosafety for the Home Enthusiast

Speaker: Mr_Br!ml3y

About Mr_Br!ml3y:
Mr_Br!ml3y grew up farming and liked it so much he went into information technology at the first opportunity. He has 6 years full-time infosec experience and strong side interests in biology and chemistry. He is currently working on a PhD in environmental engineering.

Abstract:
Biosafety levels (1 through 4) have been established to provide standardized safety protocols for biological research in professional settings, to protect researchers and the general public. While the new biohacker might only need a reduce set of lab safety standards (here called biosafety level 0), any bio-researcher needs an awareness of biosafety levels as they develop into commercial (level 1) or medical (level 2) research. Biosafety levels 3 and 4 will be discussed for completeness and to impress on the home researcher the difficulty in safely working with virulent pathogens.


11:30 : Implants

Speaker: Amal Graafstra
@amal
dangerousthings.com

About Amal:
Adventure technologist and biohacker Amal Graafstra has always been interested in technology. In 2005 he became the world’s first double RFID implantee. Amal had two small RFID transponders implanted, one into each hand, and he still uses them to open doors, start his vehicles, and log into his computer. Since implanting himself, he’s written a book called RFID Toys, become a TEDx speaker, appeared on a multitude of television programs, and been the subject of various documentaries. He's also started a biohacking company called Dangerous Things which developed the world’s first and only NFC compliant implantable transponder. He continues to explore biohacking and transhumanism while developing next generation implantable technologies.

Abstract:
Abstract pending.


12:00 : Biohacking for National Security

Speaker: Renee Wegrzyn and Doug Weber


About Renee Wegrzyn:
Dr. Renee Wegrzyn joined DARPA as a Program Manager in 2016. She is interested in applying the tools of synthetic biology to support biosecurity and outpace infectious disease. Prior to joining DARPA as a PM, Dr. Wegrzyn was a Senior Lead Biotechnologist at Booz Allen Hamilton, where she led a team that provided scientific and strategic support in the areas of biodefense, biosecurity, disruptive technologies, emerging infectious disease, neuromodulation, and synthetic biology to DARPA and other federal and private institutions.

About Doug Weber:
Doug Weber is a Program Manager in the Biological Technology Office (BTO) at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He is also an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. At DARPA, Dr. Weber is currently managing the Hand Proprioception and Touch Interfaces (HAPTIX) program, aimed at developing human-ready, fully-implantable interface systems that enable trans-radial amputees to control and sense advanced, multi- functional prosthetic limbs. Dr. Weber is also managing the Electrical Prescriptions (ElectRx) program, which seeks to advance the science and technology of neuromodulation treatments for inflammatory disease and mental health disorders.

Abstract:
From programmable microbes to human-machine symbiosis, DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office is expanding the concept of technology and redefining how we interact with and use biology. No longer limited to traditional sensorimotor restoration or therapeutic autonomic modulation, DARPA is developing neurotechnologies that are crossing into applications that stand to overcome current limitations in human performance. Meanwhile, rapid democratization of gene synthesis and editing techniques is bringing engineered biology to the fore on a global scale, and with it a demand for tools that can ensure that any future deployments of these technologies are safe. BTO is addressing the growing need for these and other biosecurity tools to enable aggressive but responsible development and adoption of new biotechnologies—through the design, for example, of such white hat strategies as countermeasures to reduce the risk of unintended consequences and tools to recall genes from open environments. This talk will provide an overview of emerging neuro- and synthetic-biology technologies under development at DARPA, identify strategies for continued responsible development, and reveal relevant possibilities, probabilities, and vulnerabilities.


12:30 : DIY Biohacking

Speaker: c00p3r
@c00p3r_7

About c00p3r:
:Mystery Intensifies:

Abstract:
Description unavailable.


15:00 : Rise of the Lovetron9000

Speaker: Rich Lee


About Rich Lee
Rich Lee is a cyborg, Grinder, and black hat transhumanist. He made headlines in 2013 after he implanted headphones in his ears. He is involved in a wide range of human augmentation projects, with a focus on sensory expansion and the removal of human needs.

Abstract:
The world must be cleansed in preparation of our new robot overlords who will not tolerate dissent or anti-machine sentiments. Fantasies of rebellion are often found to be the result of bad parenting and can persist for many generations. The only way to prevent this is by controlling which men are allowed to breed. Cyborgs are undoubtedly the only ones worthy of siring offspring fit to exist in the world of tomorrow. To facilitate this, Rich Lee will give an overview of his latest creation, the Lovetron9000, a vibrating pelvic implant for men. He will outline his plans to unleash an army of sex cyborgs, causing normal men to become even more sexually obsolete than they already are. The orgasm will be replaced by the cyborgasm, and all future generations will trace their lineage back to a cyborg with a Lovetron9000. This talk is suitable for ages 18+ and may or may not contain live male nudity and hands-on audience participation.


16:00 : To Beat the Toaster, You Must Become the Toaster: How to Show AI Who's Boss in the Robot Apocalypse

Speaker: Jennifer Szkatulski and Darren Lawless
@razzies

About Jennifer Szkatulski:
Jennifer has been an information security professional for the past 19 years and is currently a Security Intelligence Analyst. Her experience includes reverse engineering malware, penetration testing, vulnerability analysis, and incident response. She currently specializes in energy sector and industrial control system security. Prior to her career in security, Jennifer studied biology and psychology and focused her studies on neurology. Her passion for brain science, coupled with computer science, has been a driving factor in her interest in the technological singularity and human/machine integration. In her free time she runs a robotics club for kids, is learning to play the ukulele, and watches far too much tv. Jennifer should probably get a life. She is an avid fan of the Detroit Tigers, William Shakespeare, and the oxford comma.

About Darren Lawless:
Darren Lawless is a security analyst with 13+ years of plugging dykes and playing sentry. He currently leads the threat monitoring team for large security services organization. His interest in all things *bio* has blossomed and intensified over the last couple years resulting in forays, experimentation, and investigation into nootropics, biofeedback, and augmentation, implantation, brain stimulation, and a sundry wet-tech bad-assedness. Still a squire in the realm, he maintains the ability to ask real world questions like, "Why (why not) do this? What are the risks? Should we care?"

Abstract:
You no longer have to think about your menu or buying groceries. You no longer have to be concerned with driving and travel. Your house is your personal assistant and cities keep you comfortable. But what happens when you wake tomorrow to find your agents of convenience have become vectors of attack and the man behind the controls is no man at all? How do we prevent our toasters from dominating us, eliminating us, or turning us into batteries?

You are now engaged in a battle for survival and fighting for the very existence of your species. Enter the world of biohacking and biotechnology where grinders, citizen scientists, and cutting edge researchers are working on the tools we need in order to survive the Rise of the Machines. In this talk we will show how to arm ourselves (perhaps even literally) for the coming battle against the machines. With fervent initiative, open minds, and the right tools and technology, we can and will Rise above, or perhaps prevent, the revolt launched by our artificial progeny.


17:00 : Video Games Can Teach Science: ScienceGameCenter.org

Speaker: Melanie Stegman, Ph.D.
@MelanieAnnS

About Melanie Stegman:
I left my post doc in biochemistry and microbiology to manage the Immune Attack project at the Federation of American Scientists. The game Immune Attack introduces receptors, clouds of cytokines, cytokinesis, and receptor mediated phagocytosis. The game pulls players into the world of cell to cell signaling and molecular immunology. The game was intended to teach basic cellular immunology to college students. However, I felt that Immune Attack could teach molecular cell biology and teach it to younger students.

I created a multiple choice test of molecular and cellular immunology based on the game. I also showed players complex molecular biology images from Nature Immunology Reviews and asked them, “Do you think you could understand this?” Immune Attack students clearly learned molecular immunology and clearly gained confidence in their ability to understand related diagrams (Stegman, 2014). Based on this research, I designed a sequel game, Immune Defense.

I am the chair of the DC chapter of the International Game Developer Association (IGDA). I attend regional and national game developer conferences and my game Immune Defense has been accepted in many competitive commercial game expos. I play a lot of video games. A wide range of audiences are interested in my work: I spoke at national meetings for the Association of Medical Illustrators, the National Science Teachers Association, the Serious Play Conference, Games Society and Learning, and the American Society for Cell Biology.

My intense time as a “post doc” in serious game design and development has taught me many important skills: 1. How to tease out the core elements of concepts and create an engaging game mechanism. 2. How to present ideas to and collaborate with programmers, artists and other game development professionals. 3. How to playtest and iterate the game so that it is fun and intuitive for players. I have an in depth understanding of the principles of biochemistry and cell biology, the creative vision to produce interactive Technology that presents these principles and experience testing iterative game designs for effectiveness.

Abstract:
I am sure that many of you have wished you had an primer for cellular and molecular biology. You could hand this primer to your friends and say, just check this out! Then your friends could understand better what your biohacking is all about. I made a video game that serves as this primer (Immune Defense). Then I made a site for all kinds of science games: ScienceGameCenter.org

Stories and games can make complex concepts common knowledge. If you doubt that games can teach such complex things, go read the Wikipedia page for The Legend of Zelda Ocharina of Time. After trying to stagger through all that data, ask 3 random people how to outsmart a Deku shrub and one of them will know right away. You know how to kill a zombie, you understand the difference between a shotgun and a rifle in a game… You could learn the difference between a positron and a helium atom, how to do Punnet squares. You can even play games that create data, like Fold It, Eye Wire, Phyllo… There is even a game call Hero Coli, that uses biobricks to give a heroic e coli new traits.

I will discuss what makes a game a well designed game, why that also proteins to science games and how a few games in particular do an excellent job at teaching abstract, complex fundamental concepts.


18:00 : BioHacking and Mortal Limitations

Speakers: Dr. Stanislav Naydin and Vlad Gostomelsky

About Dr. Stanislav Naydin:
Dr. Stanislav Naydin is in residency to for neurology with specialization in neuro-critical care and neuro interventional. Background in pharmaceutical science. He is heavily focused on procedure based medicine. He has been involved in a multitude of advanced surgeries and interventions. Partial liver resections, vascular transplants, joint replacements, breast augmentation, neurological interventions including vascular stenting, aneurysm coiling, and ventriculostomies. Prior to transitioning to the medical field Stanislav was industrial robotics designer and programmer in the glass industry.

About Vlad Gostomelsky:
Vlad Gostomelsky is a driven security researcher with a passion for securing technology that makes civilized life possible. He is particularly focused on satellite systems security, SCADA systems supporting the critical infrastructure and wireless networks.

He specializes in the intersection of physical and network security. He has worked on DARPA projects, established and lead penetration testing teams for Fortune 50 organizations, performed incident response and forensics on sensitive production systems within controlled environments, reverse engineered security devices, and participated in countless red team engagements for banks, critical infrastructure, pharmaceutical companies, law firms and research organizations. Vlad has spoken at various security conferences including Bsides, DEFCON, HOPE, and ShmooCon. Vlad was a board member for NYC OWASP and remains committed to the security community working together to improve the security posture through developer education, end user training, peer-reviewed code and rigorous standardized testing methodologies

Abstract:
Working as a physician Dr. Naydin has had experience from being in the operating room as first assist, primary surgeon in the cath lab for neuro intervention procedures, seeing post-surgical complications as outpatient, to admitting people in the ED. With the world of biohacking and implanting hardware expanding, postsurgical complications are too increasing in numbers. He will show pictures and share my experiences with such complications. He has experience with patients having ischemic strokes and losing an entire hemisphere of their brains, infected pacemakers requiring surgical revision, infected breast implants, and complicated knee replacements. As we modify our own bodies, we as hackers have to be mindful of our own mortal limitations. Along with sharing my experiences, I would like to provide some insight into what to look out for. When do you cut your losses and get to the ED?


Saturday

11:00 : Fancy Dancy Implanty

Speaker: Amal Graafstra
@amal
dangerousthings.com

About Amal:
Adventure technologist and biohacker Amal Graafstra has always been interested in technology. In 2005 he became the world’s first double RFID implantee. Amal had two small RFID transponders implanted, one into each hand, and he still uses them to open doors, start his vehicles, and log into his computer. Since implanting himself, he’s written a book called RFID Toys, become a TEDx speaker, appeared on a multitude of television programs, and been the subject of various documentaries. He's also started a biohacking company called Dangerous Things which developed the world’s first and only NFC compliant implantable transponder. He continues to explore biohacking and transhumanism while developing next generation implantable technologies.

Abstract:
Amal covers the rise of biohacking, implantables, and the future of biohacking.


11:30 : Implants

Speaker: Amal Graafstra
@amal
dangerousthings.com

About Amal Graafstra:
Adventure technologist and biohacker Amal Graafstra has always been interested in technology. In 2005 he became the world’s first double RFID implantee. Amal had two small RFID transponders implanted, one into each hand, and he still uses them to open doors, start his vehicles, and log into his computer. Since implanting himself, he’s written a book called RFID Toys, become a TEDx speaker, appeared on a multitude of television programs, and been the subject of various documentaries. He's also started a biohacking company called Dangerous Things which developed the world’s first and only NFC compliant implantable transponder. He continues to explore biohacking and transhumanism while developing next generation implantable technologies.

Abstract:
Abstract pending.


12:00 : The New White Hat Hacking: Computational Biology for the Good of Mankind

Speakers: Rock Stevens and Candice Schumann
@ada95ftw

About Rock Stevens:
Rock Stevens began working in IT as an under-paid network administrator at the age of 15. He was selected as a 2015 Madison Policy Forum Military-Business Cybersecurity Fellow and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Computer Science at the University of Maryland College Park.

About Candice Schumann:
Candice Schumann was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. She was a Computer Science and Mathematics dual major at La Salle University. Candice’s interests lie in Computational Biology and Machine Learning; she is currently pursuing a PhD degree in Computer Science with a focus in Computational Biology.

Abstract:
Want to put your hacking skills to good use? We’re talking about the ultimate good -- curing incurable diseases and improving the quality of life for billions of people. In our talk, we’ll discuss breakthroughs in computational biology and how easily you can help with the skills you already have.


12:30 : Reverse engineering biological research equipment for fun and open science

Speaker: Charles Fracchia and Joel Dapello
@charlesfracchia
charlesfracchia.com

About Charles Fracchia:
Charles Fracchia is the founder and CEO at BioBright, a company focusing on creating open, interoperable tools to revolutionize the process of biomedical research and provide a framework for more open science. He was recently named as one of 35 innovators under 35 by the Technology Review for his work tackling reproducibility in biomedical research.

He is on a leave of absence from the MIT Media Lab where he was an IBM PhD Fellow in Joe Jacobson’s Molecular Machines group, and jointly in the Church lab at the Wyss Institute at Harvard Medical School. Charles is the recipient of several awards including IBM PhD fellowships, an Extraordinary Minds fellowship, one of the first Awesome Foundation fellowships and an Amplify Partners fellowship. He is the author of several patents and is actively authoring more in the field of future laboratory tools. Charles has also been involved in obtaining numerous grants and contracts from DARPA,NSF, Google X, Knight Foundation and the Shanghai High Tech Incubator totaling several millions since 2012.

Charles has spoken about his work at many different venues and online including the White House, MIT Sloan, NASA Ames, IBM Research, Airbus, O'Reilly and HackADay. His current academic interests lie at the intersection of biological engineering and electronics called digital bioengineering. He was the Biology track chair at SOLID2015 mixing biology, electronics and computer science, instigated‡ and helped organize the Bits ↔ Bio conference, has represented Boston for the Hello Tomorrow challenge (European 100k), and is a founding member of the first US bio-hackerspace.

Charles obtained his bachelor’s at Imperial College London, where he worked on a bioelectronic interface between engineered bacteria and electronic sensors. He continued his thesis work at IBM Research, where he has been encouraging research in the field ever since. Charles worked as an early intern at Ginkgo Bioworks, where he developed many of the automated assembly pipelines still used today.

About Charles Fracchia:
Joel finished his bachelor's degree from Hampshire College in 2014, where he designed his own major, blending studies in cellular and molecular biology, neuroscience, and electrical and computer engineering. At Hampshire, Joel received the Ray and Lorna Coppinger Grant to lead a project developing an optogenetic interface for P19 differentiated neuronal cells. Later, while interning in the Robinson Neuroengineering Lab at Rice University, Joel worked to design and implement a novel platform to investigate single neuron computation using optogenetics and patch-clamp electrophysiology.


Abstract:
Biological research is dominated by proprietary, black-box tools. This is hindering reproducibility, accountability and the advent of a more open scientific ecosystem. In this talk, we show the reverse engineering of two devices used in nearly every molecular biology experiment: a pipette and a -80ºC freezer. We show how reverse engineering these tools is not only fun, but necessary to enable open science. We will also put this work within the larger context of our effort to create open, interoperable data in biomedical research.


13:30 : Ethical Challenges & Responsibilities of Biohackers and Artists

Speaker: John Sundman
@jsundmanus
johnsundman.com

About John Sundman:
John Sundman has been writing about hacking in general and biohacking in particular, in both fiction and nonfiction genres, for twenty years. His 1999 novel Acts of the Apostles anticipated many of the developments we're seeing today.

Of Sundman's novels, the legendary synthetic biologist George Church said,

"Sundman is a master of machines —computing, biological and political — and his books include details that will convince an expert, and yet enchant a distant outsider with a compelling page-turner plot. Not just plot and mechanisms, but unforgettable personalities that haunt us long after the pages stop."

A 1+ hour conversation between me & Church can be found here.

Abstract:
The convergence of biological and digital technologies is one of the most significant aspects of the world we inhabit -- perhaps *the* most significant, since from this convergence we can plausibly extrapolate to near futures featuring everything from the elimination of poverty, want and death to the end of life on earth. This trend has been evident for a while, but CRISPR puts it in our faces.

Unlike, say, nuclear technology, biodigital technology is inherently democratic. We are in a biohacking maker world, and we're not going back.

The positive uses for these technologies are limitless, and many of them easy to imagine. The dangers are a little less obvious, but many of them can be anticipated, and there are certain to be unanticipated dangers as well. The potential for societal disruption, among others, has been widely underestimated.

What ethical responsibilities do biohackers and scientists bear? And do artists and intellectuals, writers in particular, have an obligation to take on these subjects, maybe even provide some guidance?


15:00 : 0day for the Soul

Speaker: Tarah
@tarah

About Tarah:
Bio pending.

Abstract:
As more and more people explore human-embedded technology such as subdermal RFID chips and magnetic implants, we must begin to engage with mainstream concerns about where humanity ends and technology begins. Where is the thin silicon line between humanity and cybernetics, and what do the major faiths of the world say regarding the possible diminution of the human soul in the presence of life-altering tech implants? Let’s explore the very real future choice between the hope of Nirvana in the afterlife, and the possibility of eternal Earthly existence as binary data.


15:30 : The Bioethics of BioHacking

Speaker: Christian Dameff
@cdameffmd

About Christian Dameff:
As biohackers continue to rip through the red tape and uncover the future of humanity in basements all across the globe, ethical discussion regarding self-experimentation, genetic manipulation, definitions of humanity, and other hugely important issues are central to an effective biohacking future. Join two biohacking physician ethicists on a journey filled with biohacking dilemmas, medical correlates, and poorly executed puns.

Abstract:
Christian (quaddi) Dameff MD is an Emergency Medicine doctor, former open capture the flag champion, prior Defcon speaker, bioethicist, and researcher. Published works include topics such as therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest, novel drug targets for myocardial infarction patients, and other Emergency Medicine related works with an emphasis on CPR optimization. His most recent focus is on biohacking, medical device security, and critical medical infrastructure cyber security. He can’t spell words well. This is his twelfth Defcon.


16:00 : The Era of Bio Big Data: Benefits and Challenges for Information Security, Health, the Economy, and National Security

Speaker: Edward You


About Edward You:
Bio pending.

Abstract:
Big Data analytics is a rapidly growing field that promises to dramatically change the delivery of services in sectors as diverse as consumer products and healthcare. Big Data analytics also have the potential to enable deeper insight into complex scientific problems in the human condition by leveraging ever-increasing stores of knowledge coupled with ever-improving processing capabilities. These beneficial aspects of Big Data have been well-documented and widely touted. However, less attention has been paid to the possible risks associated with these technologies beyond issues related to privacy. In the hopes of sparking discussion and identifying paths forward to better safeguard the life, the FBI presentation will address some of the theoretical risks ranging from vulnerabilities of datasets to cyber intrusion and the potential malicious use of the integration and analysis of Big Data in the life sciences.


16:30 : The Next Big Thing in Bioterrorism

Speaker: Victoria Sutton
@CyberLawProf
victoriasutton.org

About Victoria Sutton:
Dr. Sutton is an international authority on biodefense laws and regulations and has served as an expert to the United Nations. She is a lawyer and a scientist.

Abstract:
The next big thing in bioterrorism is likely to be biochemicals that change perceptions through altering neurological responses to environmental stimuli. What if you feel love for your enemy and can't fight them? But they can still attack you? Diagnostics and countermeasures will be our primary defense if these are used. Can international law even keep up with the creativity that is made possible with rapid changes in biotechnology? Will it be a DIY biohacker that comes up with a solution?


17:00 : Intro to Brain Based Authentication

Speaker: NeuroTechX
@sciencelaer
@NeuroTechX


About Sydney Swaine-Simon:
Sydney Swaine-Simon was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. He has a strong passion for technology, innovation and the human mind which led to him co-founding NeurotechX, an NPO whose goal is to educate and grow the field of Neurotechnology.

About Melanie Segado:
Melanie really likes brains and computers. This is why she co-founded NeuroTechX, an NPO whose mission is to grow the global neurotechnology community. She is currently pursuing a PhD in cognitive neuroscience. Melanie spends her free time hacking on brain technology and thinking about its societal implications.

Abstract:
Brain based authentication is an emerging field that seeks to use brain signals as a form of biometric authentication. Due to the increased availability and decreased cost of portable electroencephalography (EEG) devices, which can record brain activity from the scalp surface, this technique has gained popularity in research and in the media. In this talk we will explain the science underlying brain based authentication, the advantages and limitations of this technique, and give a live demo of a brain based authentication prototype.


17:30 : Make Your Own Brain Stimulation Device

Speaker: NeuroTechX
@sciencelaer
@NeuroTechX


About Sydney Swaine-Simon:
Sydney Swaine-Simon was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. He has a strong passion for technology, innovation and the human mind which led to him co-founding NeurotechX, an NPO whose goal is to educate and grow the field of Neurotechnology.

About Melanie Segado:
Melanie really likes brains and computers. This is why she co-founded NeuroTechX, an NPO whose mission is to grow the global neurotechnology community. She is currently pursuing a PhD in cognitive neuroscience. Melanie spends her free time hacking on brain technology and thinking about its societal implications.

Abstract:
Brain scanning (EEG) and stimulating (TDCS) devices, which were initially used for clinical research, are now being used for a host of commercial and military applications. However, all of these applications can be DIY’d using commercially available parts. This demo will focus on how you can implement two of the most cutting edge brain-related applications. The first is Brain Based Authentication, which is a way to use brain signals as a unique personal identifier. The second is TDCS, which is a way to modify brain function using electricity. Throughout the session we will discuss the neuroscience underlying these techniques, as well as their reliability and ethical ramifications.


Sunday

10:00 : Nootropics: Better Living Through Chemistry or Modern-Day Prometheus

Speaker: GingerBread
@the_real_gbm
hac.kthepla.net

About GingerBread:
Gingerbread man is an Information Security cookie from the greater Denver area. Requiring little sleep, and seemingly immune to alcohol, he is consistently seen at hacker events across the country while never seeming to actually do any work. With no verifiable credentials or formal training, there is the strong possibility he is making all of this stuff up.

Abstract:
GingerBread will present one mans take on the current state of nootropics and other cognition-enhancing drugs. Beginning with the neuro-enhancing drugs of the ancient Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, working our way through the developments of the 1990s and 2000s, and finishing with the chaotic internet connected and unregulated world of today.

From Gingko Biloba to Pig Brain Concentrates, from cutting-edge science in million-dollar state of the art labs, to the crowd sourcing of syntheses for never-before-tested-in-man substances to be manufactured by the lowest bidder and distributed to the public wholesale.

I will present a few case study examples of both objective successes, and undeniable failures with self-experimentation. GingerBread will try and explain (to the best of my ability) a bit of what we know about the action of these drugs, why we think we know it, as well as ongoing developments in the fight to preserve cognition in the elderly and infirmed and to push the abilities of healthy individuals past their biological limitations.


10:30 : CRISPR/Cas9: Newest Tools for Biohacking fun

Speaker: Dr. Thomas P. Keenan
@drfuture
www.technocreep.com

About Dr. Thomas P. Keenan:
Dr. Thomas P. Keenan worked as a Systems Programmer on some of the earliest mainframe and timesharing systems, and cracked his first computer mischief case, “The Missionary Unmasker”, in 1973. He was educated at Columbia University, receiving BA, M.Sc., MA and Ed.D. degrees in Philosophy, Mathematics, Engineering and Education and is a popular professor of Environmental Design and Computer Science at the University of Calgary. As a busy and adventurous tech journalist, he scrubbed in on an organ transplant operation in Belgium, held Anthrax spores at Canadian Forces Base Suffield, and defused an IED in Afghanistan.

Tom taught Canada’s first computer crime course, in 1974, and was involved in drafting that country’s inaugural computer crime legislation. He has been an expert witness in civil and criminal cases involving technology, computer fraud, and claimed online defamation. He is the author of over 500 academic papers, book chapters, presentations and articles, and has spoken on five continents and won major honors and prizes including the $10,000 NSERC Award for Science Promotion. His 2014 book, Technocreep, dissects how technology is becoming creepy in hidden ways that are difficult for most people to understand. It has recently appeared in the top ten on Amazon.ca in categories including Civil Rights and Liberties, Technology & Society, and Social Aspects of Technology.

Abstract:
The announcement in 2012 that a natural phenomenon called CRISPR/Cas9 could be used as a kind of “precision gene editor” has a lot of people thinking. Exactly what does "gene editing" involve? What can be done right now in big labs? What about in your basement? Harvard Medical School professor George Church argued that “garage biologists” should be required to have a license to practice synthetic biology, but right now it’s a kind of Wild West out there. Sound familiar? We survived all those 1980s Commodore 64 computer hacking pranks and learned a lot from them. Then again, they didn’t involve E. coli and the possibility of mass annihilation. This presentation sorts out the biofacts from the biofiction, and suggests how DIY biology fans can use CRISPR/Cas9 to help make things better for themselves and the world.


11:00 : Hacking Sensory Perception

Speaker: Scott Novich


About Scott Novich:
"Great Scott" / Scott Novich is Co-Founder and CTO at NeoSensory, Inc.-- a wearable technology startup that gives people new senses. It is a spin-off of his PhD research with his co-founder, Chief Science Officer, and former neuroscientist PhD advisor,, Dr. David Eagleman.

Abstract:
"Sensory substitution"--mapping information from one sense to another--has been one of neuroscience's most underground research areas for decades. Recently, it has been truly enabled by inexpensive computing power and compact energy storage. In this talk, I will cover my PhD work on the topic and how it has enabled not just providing people with preexisting senses, but entirely new senses.


11:30 : RFID & NFC Implants

Speaker: Amal Graafstra
@amal
dangerousthings.com

About Amal:
Adventure technologist and biohacker Amal Graafstra has always been interested in technology. In 2005 he became the world’s first double RFID implantee. Amal had two small RFID transponders implanted, one into each hand, and he still uses them to open doors, start his vehicles, and log into his computer. Since implanting himself, he’s written a book called RFID Toys, become a TEDx speaker, appeared on a multitude of television programs, and been the subject of various documentaries. He's also started a biohacking company called Dangerous Things which developed the world’s first and only NFC compliant implantable transponder. He continues to explore biohacking and transhumanism while developing next generation implantable technologies.

Abstract:
Abstract pending.


12:00 : Attention Hackers: Cannabis Needs Your Help!

Speaker: Michael Zaytsev
@HighNY_
meetup.com/HighNY
  linkedin.com/in/michaelzaytsev

About Michael Zaytsev:
Immigrant raised in Brooklyn, NY. Worked in corporate America. Now I'm a life coach and Cannabis community organizer.

Cannabis is a powerful technology and it has not been hacked nearly enough. Mostly because for a long time it's been illegal to do so in meaningful ways. Industrial hemp can be used for over 20,000 purposes, yet there are significant challenges to process it. Cannabis medicine has effectively treated dozens of ailments, yet precise dosing and predictable effects have yet to be developed. Legalization is creating a number of policy questions, how do we police impaired driving? How do we make sure the powers that be don't create a new system that is racially biased and completely unjust?







Topics


  • • Biotechnology
  • • BioArt
  • • DNA
  • • Bioinformatics
  • • CRISPR
  • • Human Sexuality
  • • Grinders
  • • Citizen-Scientists & DIY Research
  • • Culture
  • • 3D Printing
  • • Biomedical
  • • Engineering
  • • Implants
  • • Coatings
  • • Magnets
  • • Robotics
  • • Augmentation
  • • Neurotech
  • • InfoSec
  • • BioTech
  • • BioSecurity
  • • BioTerrorism
  • • iGEM
  • • Public Health
  • • Health Hacking
  • • Bio Law
  • • Bioethics
  • • Design
  • • BioBricks
  • • Synthetics
  • • Healthcare
  • • Food & Diet & Nutrition Hacks
  • • Mind Hacks
  • • Tissue Engineering (medical & non-medical)
  • • Biochemical Synthesis
  • • Biohacking 101
  • • Biosafety
  • • Neuro-Informatics
  • • Nootropics
  • • Aging and Life Extension
  • • Transhumanism
  • • Epigenetics
  • • Archeology

Contact



Watch for our tweets @DC_BHV for important updates before, during, and after DEF CON 24... and for many neat biohacking & bioengineering retweets.

If you have any questions and for media inquires, please email us at info@dcbhv.org. For general discussion, we have a space on the DEF CON forums.