Darning Genes: Biology for the Homebody
they meet in groups, in cities, and unite online.
The age of the DIYbiologist has begun. With the price of equipment
falling and the open source ideology flourishing, it was perhaps
inevitable that we would see the rise of this new DIY community. And
while it may conjure pictures of citizens with scalpels in one hand and
a trowel in the other, DIYbiology is, in fact, an exciting and
potentially productive new field.
Primarily interested in the currently fashionable trend of synthetic
biology — the creation of novel organisms using genetics and other
techniques — they meet in groups, in cities, and unite online. One
popular such location is DIYbio.org,
created by Mackenzie Cowell and Jason Bobe. Meredith Patterson, the
doyenne d’DIYbio, recently caught AP’s eye with her pet project — a
strain of the bacteria responsible for yogurt that secretes miraculin
as a sweetener. While group discourse focuses on genetics and synthetic
biology, there are other hot topics, like creating lab equipment using
common household items or building a thermocycler for $25. There are
intense debates about bioethics, and projects like the global
bioweather map — a map that charts the flow, spread, and presence of
various bacteria around the world.
and while one might envision dozens of isolated home biologists
homebrewing genes in their basements and garages, there is a social
aspect to this movement that goes beyond the online. Some people who
lack the space to store large amounts of equipment have formed co-op
labs where they work together. Meetings, arranged over the net,
generally happen at people’s homes and have a party vibe. A map of labs
on the hackerspaces website shows the highest concentration of interest
on the Eastern coast of the U.S. But participants can be found all over
the globe, including Asia, Africa, and South America.