Bio hacking and textiles

'Raphael Kim is a biohacker-designer and a former student from Design Interactions at the Royal College of Art.'
A workshop with a bio- hacker and his introduction about extracting DNA didn't grab my attention but by the end of the workshop I was excited by the potential of this new direction where science and textiles converge. I found phrases like 'controlling nature' and 'manipulating DNA' worrying. I am passionate about sustainability and protecting our environment so someone talking about controlling our environment made me very concerned. I held my tongue but ethical practice and the opportunities for subversive acts worried me. However when he began to give examples of the ways the language and lessons of nature are being used creatively I began to see opportunities - bridges from bending branches, bacteria in cement cellulose sheets - where human intervention has resulted in interesting and aesthetic outcomes.
The work of Suzanne Lee where she uses bioculture to grow cellulose and make jackets and other clothing where no chemicals are involved is worth investigating.

Other names Raphael mentioned were - Sonya Balman, Michael Burton and Phillip Ross. He also mentioned Thomas Landrain who grows his own ink but I couldn't see how this was more beneficial than the woad and walnut inks I use.

But it is a different way of thinking and when we were shown how to extract DNA from strawberries and told how much of the equipment needed for bio hacking is available on Amazon and the lower cost implications - could this be the future?
I had been thinking about the current political interest in learning from natural dyes to make chemical dyes less toxic and how advances in science have resulted in gaining knowledge about ancient textiles. I spoke to Raphael about my idea to compare the colour from the same plant, probably nettles, grown in different mediums, atmospheres, climates etc. He has given me a name of a Professor at Imperial College working on the connection between plants and soil. It is an area of research in which I am interested but is it unconnected to my current research and practice?