2019 has been biohacking’s most incredible year. All the ups and downs that happened in the world of biohacking pointed to one trajectory: going mainstream.

Although 2018 had its unforgettable moments, 2019 was the year that the world of biohacking was opened to the public, the year when the public started to realize that the possibilities biohackers present through their DIY-innovations are not only on the same level as industry and academia, but perhaps even greater – because of the added bonus of democratization and open access that biohacking comes with.

There were however different trajectories for the two main branches of biohacking; that is, different trajectories for DIY-bio and DIY-cybernetics. This is mostly because the 2018 CRISPR Babies scandal spilled over into 2019, and as a result, DIY-bio and genetic engineering captured the public’s imagination far more than DIY-cybernetics and cyborg biohacking. Some would even argue that 2019 was the year that DIY-cybernetics and its ‘grinder’ sub-culture offshoot began their decline. However, this decline seems only applicable to the United States, because Catalonia’s Cyborg Art movement did not only grow, but it also introduced even more cyborgs with novel senses and augmentations than it had in 2018.

2019 also presented very real existential threats to biohackers and their movement. It has been a year where many biohackers have come to the stark realization that they need to be more proactive if they want to continue practicing their craft. Both branches of biohacking came under attack from governments when lawmakers tried to ban human microchipping and DIY-CRISPR kits. Thankfully, through the efforts of biohackers themselves, the bans were defeated; proving once again that biohacking is here to stay.

Here are the 15 moments of 2019 that established biohacking as a movement and culture that is here to stay: