Bio-art: the ethics behind the aesthetics

Bio-art represents a crossover of art and the biological sciences, with living matter, such as genes, cells or animals, as its new media. Such manipulations of life require collaborations with scientists and considerable financial backing. Herein, I consider bio-art that goes 'under the skin' - in which DNA, cells or proteins are used as the media and means - to highlight the ethical implications of reducing life to art.