[dorkbotdc-blabber] Do-It-Yourself Genetic Engineering - NBC Bay Area

[Alberto Gaitán]

[With apologies for cross-posting. This comes via DorkbotDC member, Josh 
Duberman. Maybe HacDC needs a wetware lab? Several artists have been 
working with this technology for some years with concomitant concerns 
about some of the possible unintended (or worse, anti-socially intended) 
consequences of this kind of hacking. On the upside, there may be garage 
biohackers who can come up with a (spime/blogject-based?) cheap, 
ubiquitous method of detecting bio/chem hotspots as an alternative to 
short-sighted proposals by some big cities to ban "unlicensed" bio/chem 
sensors. -- Alberto]

fyi, in case you hadn't seen this - best wishes - Josh

http://tinyurl.com/9exf6k
or
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/health/tips_info/NATL-Do-It-Yourself-Gene.html
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Do-It-Yourself Genetic Engineering
By  MARCUS WOHLSEN
Updated 1:09 AM PST, Fri, Dec 26, 2008

(AP)—The Apple computer was invented in a garage. Same with the Google 
search engine. Now, tinkerers are working at home with the basic 
building blocks of life itself.

Using homemade lab equipment and the wealth of scientific knowledge 
available online, these hobbyists are trying to create new life forms 
through genetic engineering—a field long dominated by Ph.D.s toiling in 
university and corporate laboratories.

In her San Francisco dining room lab, for example, 31-year-old computer 
programmer Meredith Patterson is trying to develop genetically altered 
yogurt bacteria that will glow green to signal the presence of melamine, 
the chemical that turned Chinese-made baby formula and pet food deadly.

"People can really work on projects for the good of humanity while 
learning about something they want to learn about in the process," she says.

So far, no major gene-splicing discoveries have come out anybody's 
kitchen or garage. But critics of the movement worry that these amateurs 
could one day unleash an environmental or medical disaster. Defenders 
say the future Bill Gates of biotech could be developing a cure for 
cancer in the garage.

Many of these amateurs may have studied biology in college but have no 
advanced degrees and are not earning a living in the biotechnology 
field. Some proudly call themselves "biohackers"—innovators who push 
technological boundaries and put the spread of knowledge before profits.

In Cambridge, Mass., a group called DIYbio is setting up a community lab 
where the public could use chemicals and lab equipment, including a used 
freezer, scored for free off Craigslist, that drops to 80 degrees below 
zero, the temperature needed to keep many kinds of bacteria alive.

Co-founder Mackenzie Cowell, a 24-year-old who majored in biology in 
college, says amateurs will probably pursue serious work such as new 
vaccines and super-efficient biofuels, but they might also try, for 
example, to use squid genes to create tattoos that glow.

Cowell says such unfettered creativity could produce important 
discoveries. "We should try to make science more sexy and more fun and 
more like a game," he says.

Patterson, the computer programmer, wants to insert the gene for 
fluorescence into yogurt bacteria, applying techniques developed in the 
1970s.

She learned about genetic engineering by reading scientific papers and 
getting tips from online forums. She ordered jellyfish DNA for a green 
fluorescent protein from a biological supply company for less than $100. 
And she built her own lab equipment, including a gel electrophoresis 
chamber, or DNA analyzer, which she constructed for less than $25, 
versus more than $200 for a low-end off-the-shelf model.

Jim Thomas of ETC Group, a biotechnology watchdog organization, warned 
that synthetic organisms in the hands of amateurs could escape and cause 
outbreaks of incurable diseases or unpredictable environmental damage. 
"Once you move to people working in their garage or other informal 
location, there's no safety process in place," he said.

Some also fear that terrorists might attempt do-it-yourself genetic 
engineering. But Patterson said: "A terrorist doesn't need to go to the 
DIYbio community. They can just enroll in their local community college."