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posted by Fnord666 on Friday May 24 2019, @03:32AM   Printer-friendly
from the try-it-out-on-yourself dept.

Submitted via IRC for AnonymousLuser

Biohacker Josiah Zayner accused of being an unlicensed practitioner

Celebrity biohacker Josiah Zayner says he's under investigation for practicing medicine without a license. The onetime NASA scientist, known on social media for his DIY medical procedures, was sent a letter by the California Department of Consumer Affairs after it received a "complaint of unlicensed practice of medicine" against Zayner. While anyone can file a complaint with California's medical board, the fact it is now investigating means it considers the accusations credible.

WTF!!!! I have been accused of practicing medicine without a license because of genetic self-experimentation and showing people how to access publicly available knowledge.

The truth is... https://t.co/j9Yoy0rKPR

— Josiah Zayner (@4LOVofScience) May 14, 2019

Biohackers are individuals that perform medical experiments outside university labs and accredited companies. Zayner found fame online for a raft of stunts, including carrying out a fecal transplant and injecting his own arm with CRISPR. He's also well known for his disdain for the US Food and Drug Administration, which he accuses of blocking innovation and putting lives at risk.

[...]California's medical board has requested an interview with Zayner on June 11th, informing him he is "welcome to bring an attorney" but that it's not obligatory. It's not clear what will happen next, but practicing medicine in California can be a misdemeanour or a felony, and carries penalties of up to three years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Additional Coverage:
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/5/19/18629771/biohacking-josiah-zayner-genetic-engineering-crispr
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613540/celebrity-biohacker-josiah-zayner-is-under-investigation-for-practicing-medicine-without-a/


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by stormwyrm on Friday May 24 2019, @04:01AM (5 children)

    by stormwyrm (717) on Friday May 24 2019, @04:01AM (#846939) Journal

    That doesn't look like the only thing this clown is doing. From the Vox article:

    Zayner acknowledged that some people contact his company “for the sole purpose of buying stuff from us to inject” and said he discourages them from doing that. But given that he’s live-streamed himself doing it and that he sells the DIY CRISPR kits necessary for others to do the same, his words of deterrence may not mean much to customers.

    Bad enough that he makes a mockery of the scientific process, he is actively encouraging others to do as he does. "Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, don't inject the stuff I sell into yourself (though I do it, and just maybe it will work for you)," just might not fly.

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday May 24 2019, @04:09AM (1 child)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday May 24 2019, @04:09AM (#846943) Journal

    If he is exaggerating the capabilities of his kits, then he should receive a strongly worded letter to tell him to cut the noise down.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 24 2019, @05:27AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 24 2019, @05:27AM (#846961)
      It seems he has already gotten more than a few such nastygrams and laughed at them. This is the next stage.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 24 2019, @07:29AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 24 2019, @07:29AM (#846972)

    Why do you consider this a mockery of science? To me, experimental validation a cornerstone of good scientific practice, and isn't self-experimentation a lot more ethical than experimentation on other animals -- so that part I have no problem labelling as "good science". Since I don't know anything about this guy except TFS, where's the mockery coming from?

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Friday May 24 2019, @02:19PM

      by nitehawk214 (1304) on Friday May 24 2019, @02:19PM (#847074)

      No published results, no theories, no tests, just random biohacking. This is not science at all, let alone "good".

      And the guy makes a profit on it? Without any oversight what keeps him from outright lying, selling fake products that he does not use himself. Buyer beware only works if the buyer can be informed on what they are buying.

      What makes him any different than homeopathy or any number of quack cures?

      --
      "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @02:31AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @02:31AM (#847777)
      Experimental validation needs to have something to validate. Does he even have a hypothesis that he is trying to validate or refute by his so-called "experiments"? If so, what experimental data is he producing by experimenting on himself? What constitutes success or failure of an experiment? As far as I can tell he has no papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals explaining what he's doing. If he has none of these things, as seems so, he is not doing science, just making masturbatory publicity stunts.