Insect Biohacking for Climate Resilience

As the planet faces mounting challenges from climate change, the need for innovative solutions has never been greater. One unexpected frontier of resilience lies in insects, nature's smallest engineers: bugs. Yes, you read that correctly. It sounds absurd but bugs do have immense potential in revolutionising the way we approach sustainability. While we're busy arguing about electric cars and solar panels, the real climate heroes might be crawling through our soil and generally being ignored because they're, well, bugs.

Through the power of biohacking, scientists are beginning to unlock and enhance their potential to address climate-related issues such as crop failure and pollinator decline. In this article, I will break this topic down before your imagination runs wild with visions of beetles in business suits typing away at tiny keyboards.

What is Insect Biohacking?

Insect biohacking refers to the process of modifying insects to enhance specific traits or introduce new capabilities, and it can take two main forms: genetic engineering and technological augmentation.

On one hand, genetic biohacking (which includes techniques like CRISPR-Cas9 - one of the most famous methods of genetic engineering), allows scientists to precisely edit insect DNA to benefit us. For example, making mosquitoes resistant to malaria or silkworms that produce spider silk. This form of biohacking falls under the broader umbrella of synthetic biology.

On the other hand, technological biohacking involves equipping insects with miniature devices, such as sensors or neural interfaces, effectively turning them into "cyborgs" for tasks like surveillance, environmental monitoring, or search-and-rescue missions, such as the one seen in the picture above.

As compared to genetic biohacking, you probably have not heard of technological biohacking before - after all, it seems impractical and, frankly, ridiculous to strap advanced technological devices onto insects. However, this does not seem to be bothering scientists all over the world. If you are interested, check out this interesting YouTube video by Backyard Brains, where he gives instructions on how to surgically create a roboroach from a dead cockroach (again, this sounds so ridiculous but it really does work - a testament to the limitless possibilities of science!).

Overall, both approaches demonstrate the growing potential of insect biohacking in addressing challenges across public health and agriculture (and even national security)! They can improve insect resistance to diseases, optimise their efficiency in performing ecological roles, or even enable them to tackle entirely new challenges brought about by climate change (all of which benefits us, humans).

The Pollinator Crisis and Bioengineered Bees

Pollinators like bees play a critical role in agriculture, responsible for pollinating around 75% of global crops. However, climate change and habitat loss, among other factors, have led to a dramatic decline in bee populations.

Here, as implied earlier, biohacking offers a potential solution. Scientists are developing genetically modified bees that are resistant to diseases such as colony collapse disorder and can tolerate higher temperatures.

For instance, scientists have already genetically engineered a type of bacteria found in the gut microbiome of honey bees, protecting their health and having great implications (mostly positive) on the production of honey. Upregulating genes involved in antiviral defence pathways, such as those related to RNA interference (RNAi) or Toll and Imd signalling pathways, which are crucial in insect innate immunity, could create bioengineered bees with enhanced immune systems. Enhancing these pathways may help bees better resist viruses like Deformed Wing Virus, whose spread is exacerbated by climate-driven increases in Varroa mite populations.

Also, experts are looking into how to make bee actions better by changing genes tied to their brains and senses that help with finding their way and finding food. For example, by adjusting genes like Amfor, which affects how bees look for food and react to the things around them, and genes that control smell nerve cells, bees might be able to find flowers from far away. This can help them deal with flowers blooming at different times and places because of changes in weather, making nature and crop growth stronger. Cool, isn't it?

Pest Control without Pesticides

As much as insects are integral for our survival, some insects have destructive tendencies. I’m not talking about the mosquito flying annoyingly close to you while you are trying to sleep or the ants you see crawling around your plate of food. I’m talking about agricultural pests that destroy millions of tons of crops annually, with climate change expanding their range and reproductive rates. To combat this problem, farmers have resorted to using pesticides. Common examples include insecticides like malathion and chlorpyrifos, which target insect pests by disrupting their nervous systems, and herbicides such as glyphosate, used to eliminate invasive weeds that compete with crops for nutrients. These pesticides help improve crop yield and quality, but their overuse also raises environmental and health concerns: these chemicals can contaminate soil and water sources, harming beneficial organisms like bees, earthworms, and aquatic life. Additionally, long-term exposure to pesticide residues has been linked to health issues in humans, including respiratory problems and even cancer. In this aspect, biohacking offers a more sustainable alternative to agriculture, by reducing the use of pesticides through more natural ways of pest control (i.e via insect biohacking).

Another aspect is how bioengineered mosquitoes are already being released in controlled programs to reduce the spread of diseases like malaria. The same concept is being applied to agricultural pests. Genetically modified insects can be designed to suppress pest populations by introducing sterile individuals or genes that disrupt reproduction. This approach, known as the "Sterile Insect Technique," is being adapted to combat climate-amplified pest outbreaks. 

One notable example of this is the Wolbachia programme in Singapore, where male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are infected with the Wolbachia bacteria and released into the environment. When these males mate with wild females, the resulting eggs do not hatch, significantly reducing mosquito populations and curbing the spread of diseases like dengue and Zika. Similar strategies are being implemented globally: for instance, in Australia, the Eliminate Dengue Program also uses Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to block virus transmission rather than suppress populations. These innovative biological control methods offer a sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides, especially as climate change increases the range and resilience of vector-borne pests. This allows us to adapt to the challenges of tomorrow by improving the technologies of today.

Other roles insects could play in saving the environment

Beyond agriculture, biohacked insects are actively being explored as tools for environmental repair and resilience. Termites and dung beetles, for example, play critical roles in breaking down organic matter and enriching soils, an ability we could leverage to benefit us: biohacked insects could help restore degraded land and improve soil fertility in areas affected by desertification and drought.

One other intriguing application is the use of bioengineered insects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Certain species of beetles and worms can consume agricultural waste, preventing methane emissions from decaying organic matter (which otherwise contributes to global warming). Plus, experts are looking into ways to make these bugs even better at cleaning up waste, making them live trash clean-up teams. All of these methods are promising and could significantly change how we plan for and envision the not so distant future.

Ethical and Ecological Considerations

While the potential of insect biohacking is immense, it raises important ethical and ecological questions. Simply put, introducing genetically modified insects into ecosystems could have unintended consequences, such as disrupting food webs or creating new invasive species.

Unsurprisingly, there is also public skepticism around the safety and morality of modifying living organisms, particularly when such changes could spread uncontrollably in the wild.

To address these concerns, researchers are developing "gene drive" technologies that allow for precise control over the spread of genetic modifications, preventing them from getting out of hand and, as a result, a greater pain to deal with. Additionally, rigorous testing in contained environments is essential before deploying biohacked insects in the wild (because safety, first).

The Future of Insect Biohacking

As climate challenges intensify, the urgency to develop innovative solutions will only grow. Insect biohacking represents a promising avenue for building resilience in agriculture, ecosystems, and beyond - insects have always been nature's unsung heroes, and with the help of modern science, they may become indispensable allies in humanity's fight against climate change.

The "perennial" question now is how to balance innovation with responsibility, ensuring that these small but mighty creatures continue to thrive alongside us in a rapidly changing world.

<An original version of this article previously appeared on The Biology Mirror Website under the same name on December 11, 2024>

References

1. https://hackaday.com/2021/05/03/genetically-modified-mosquitos-biohacking-for-disease-prevention/

2. https://www.freethink.com/hard-tech/scientists-engineered-cyborg-grasshoppers-to-sniff-out-bombs

3. https://fossbytes.com/why-roboroach-wants-you-to-control-living-cockroach-with-your-smartphone/