Scholars in science and technology studies--and no doubt other fields--have increasingly drawn on Michel Foucault's concept of biopolitics to theorize a variety of new "bio-concepts." While there might be some theoretical value in such exercises, many of these bio-concepts have simply replaced more rigorous--and therefore time-consuming--analytical work. This article provides a (sympathetic) critique of these various bio-concepts, especially as they are applied to the emerging "bio-economy." In so doing, the article seeks to show that the analysis of the bio-economy could be better framed as a political economy of nothing. This has several implications for science education, which are raised in the article.