Xenopia

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Xenopia is a research, art and design project aimed at prototyping a domestic hormones beta hCG test as a tool to address reproductive justice and the right to access abortion. A project designed by ALMA Futura. Funded by the IMPETUS Accelerator Program as part of EU Horizon [07/'24-01/'25] Xenopia Research Video

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Research

In November 2023, a popular initiative bill is being debated in Italy: it seeked to amend Law No. 194 of 1978 - which regulates access to abortion - by including the obligation on the part of the doctor to have the fetus' heartbeat listened to by the person who wants to voluntarily terminate the pregnancy. All with the aim of enhancing a culture of shame, incentivizing a gynecology of violence and delaying access to abortion without directly banning it.

Xenopia is above all a visceral response to the anger we - Isabel and Giulia - feel as women, artists, and researchers in the face of an increasing tightening by political institutions in Italy toward our reproductive rights.

Thanks to Impetus4CS we are carrying out the Xenopia participatory research and prototyping project. The project is named after the frog Xenopus Laevis the laboratory animal that for several decades has been used as a model organism for the study of the pregnancy hormone beta hCG and as a living pregnancy test.

Xenopia is a research, art and design project aimed at prototyping a domestic hormones beta hCG test (pregnancy test) as a tool to address reproductive justice and the right to access abortion. We use the approach of open science and biohacking to go to problematize from a theoretical and practical point of view the role that technology takes in controlling and limiting bodies and choices.

"Contextual biology, through hacking, is a form of social resistance in which members of the lay public conduct scientific research beyond institutional walls in order to challenge the status quo. The experiment is conducted in public, placing centrality on the individual who acquires sets of knowledge outside his or her own expertise and situates this process within the public space” Mary Maggic, Open_Source_Estrogen, Kabul Magazine 2024

Current digital pregnancy tests are a huge technological waste, based on animal exploitation, expensive, and not designed to take into account the abortion experience (where beta hCG testing is mandatory). Moreover, the issue of abortion and reproductive rights too often is a field decided and limited from above while it needs more direct participation of people. Through organizing workshops, talks and hacksessions we share our research and own participatory tables where people can discuss and develop ideas.

We are interested in getting as much to a working prototype of a reusable test of hCG beta hormone detection as we are in collectively creating scenarios of ideal futures about how we would like to be able to have abortions safely and freely.

In our journey we are engaging people, transfeminist collectives, hackers, and organizations active in reproductive rights in Italy that we directly involve in developing concepts of technological prototypes to detect the presence of the hormone beta hCG.

Gaudi Lab & Hackteria Residency

During the all month of October 2024, Giulia (co-founder of ALMA Futura) ran an artistic residency at GaudiLab in Luzern and at Hackteria ZET Open Science Lab in Zurich, supported by the Index Freiraum Stipendium.

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We started by laying out all the reproductive tools used as feminine hygiene/care/health products.

In the top right picture (starting from the left) we can identify a: menstrual cycle diary, metal speculum, vaginal tampon, menstrual cup, encapsulated probiotics, vaginal thermometer, clearblue digital test, open clearblue test, pee paper collector, paper strips to measure hCG, container for paper strips, pcb with screen behind and coin cell batteries. What about feminine hormones?? What is the difference between the fertility hormone (progesterone) and the pregnancy hormone (beta hCG)?

We spent one week of residency at GaudiLabs, an amazing lab full of magic where potions and electronics are perfectly merging ~ all enriched by the passion, the extravaganza and dedication of the people living the lab. There we started by researching and talking about hCG antybodies, pH colorimeters and how to reproduce the paper strips with antybodies and create a different reader instead of the digital clearblue test.

How to create a home pregnancy test that can easily monitor the fertility and pregnancy hormone? Maybe saliva?!

Biohacking
Here shacking magic with LB medium, agar, transformation liquids to grow fluorescent e-coli.
We made the BIOFILIE medium open protocol to grow specifically vaginal Lactobacillus and Candida Albicans. Here we grew part of vaginal epitheliums with menstrual period and in one day an amazing vaginal microbiota grew with tiny new colonies of Lactobacillus that later we tried to make them glow.
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We played with color change fluids using N02 nitrites combined with my morning pee and the daphnia water (which should not have any nitrites so they can live and be pretty tiny planktonic crustaceans). Using the open colorimeter by IoRodeo we learnt how to read light absorbency (still lot to learn and read) and how difficult is to pipette with pipettes ~ we felt slow and at the same time fascinated by those little volumes of droplets falling these cutie cuvettes! Learned as well how use evil AI machines to calculate volumes and doing some basics fast research. As well thinking how to develop a paper strip with different level of hCG hormone to measure weeks of pregnancy.

These concentrations of nitrites are now way to high to measure bodily fluids like pee. Here shades of purple and pink are the closest one we need to explore color changing fluids and nitrites test is becoming more and more pretty and inspiring, especially when we are measuring drops and calculating numbers in tiny microleter [1 uL = 0.001 mL] (here AI machines helped) while the open colorimeter on the other side (as a machine and technology) is not so reliable. Then we started to wonder - today, do we trust more machines & numbers or color shades, smells, textures and our human and non-human senses?

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We explored how the digital pregnancy test of clearblue is made inside - clearblue has the monopolio for digital measuring tools of beta hCG hormones. On their website they show how to open their tests and basically how difficult it would be to hack them ~ otherwise they wouldn't have filed so many patents.

Observing the electronics of this test is fascinating but still.. what is the point of PEEING in such a great technology if then we throw it away in the bin?! We also collected friends, and friends of friends pee with hormones beta hCG to test our prototypes.

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Together with the Hackteria ZET Lab community we 3D printed reproductive organs that Amy Bravewater developed and released open source. We are re-designing the file to add supports for holding the vulva, clitoris and vaginal canal with uterus and tubes all together.

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Xenopia Hacksessions

So far we ran three Hacksessions between Switzerland and Italy where we invited people to quick prototype, create and develop DIY tests to monitor the hormone beta hCG at home by hacking pregnancy tests and playing with fluids. The session were free and open to everyone - people joined with their friends, hackers and hacktivist - bringing their fav tools and electronics!

  • 23/10/2024 Xenopia Hacksession vol.1 @Hackteria ZET Open Science Lab (Zurig) // Xenopia Video
  • 16/11/2024 Xenopia Hacksession vol. 2 @Hackrocchio (Turin)
  • 15/12/2024 Xenopia Hacksession vol.3 @Centro di Documentazione delle Donne (Bologna)

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During the Hacksessions we collected ideas and quick prototypes of future scenarios where abortion would be free, accessible, inclusive and safe. For example: the fact that standard measurements exclude a number of people (such as fat-size people); that beta hCG hormone is also an indicator for other conditions such as polycystic ovary and various cancers; that other interesting indicators to explore may be physical symptoms (salivation) and other biosensors such as colloids; that tests to measure weeks are in fact used indiscriminately to delay access to ivg but there is no reason why a simple positive pregnancy test is not sufficient and finally that tests to measure the amount of beta can be useful for monitoring the actual occurrence of abortion for those who do not have access to post-natal care.

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Xenopia Libera - Podcast

The research is published in the italian podcast Xenopia Libera’’’. ‘’(english version coming up soon)

Xenopia Libera is a sound research and scientific protocol. At a time when access to abortion is increasingly restricted, it is urgent that we equip ourselves with tools for autonomy and self-management. This is why we hack the technologies that control and oppress us, and liberate the living organic interfaces that are exploited. We talk about frogs used as pregnancy tests, the hormone beta-hCG, contested biology and struggles for reproductive rights. Xenopia is a podcast written, produced and narrated by Alma Futura.

Listen the podcast on our pages: Spreaker or Spotify.

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Future 4th and 5th episodes are coming up soon! Stay tuned!!

Xenopia Research

Hacking Pregnancy Tests Research

Hormone beta hCG Research

Open Source Toolkits Colorimeters/Fluids

Readings

Reproductive Tools

Pregnancy Test Patents

Xenopus Laevis

Wiki Resources

BIO-reSEARCH

GynePUNK

Openlab gynecologyDIT

Open_Source_Estrogen

Pechblenda

SATW - Do-it-yourself von Laborgeräten in der Bioanalytik

Urine analisis/MICROSCOPY

ALMA Futura

ALMA Futura is a collective/studio based in Italy (Rome / Val Susa) that combines design, anthropology, education and science to co-create tools for radical cultural change in the sphere of reproductive, intimate and gynecological health. We use technology as a tool for provocation and speculation but also as a means to learn about our bodies, connect with people oppressed because of their gender and by entrenched social taboos. Since 2018, we have been developing educational materials, toolkits and participatory methodologies that are easy to access, open source and open science. Most importantly we are also two women committed to creating spaces for listening, caring, exchange and self-determination. Founded by Giulia Tomasello and Isabel Farina.

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