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

[R. Mark Adams, Ph.D.]

Really interesting!  I have also been wondering how some biotech-based 
approaches can dovetail into other technology endeavors, and how this 
can fit into the framework of HacDC/MAKE:DC/Dorkbot, et al..

In particular, alternative energy sources are a perfect place for this 
combination to thrive.  My daughter Kat has been working on a multi-year 
science project collecting, culturing, and eventually measuring oil 
production capacity of the local algae.  Combine with is what is being 
done in the genetic engineering of microorganisms, and there is some 
really interesting things that basement investigators can potentially do 
in the area of energy production, as well as the areas that Alberto 
mentions.

Open offer to those on the list with an interest in such things- my 
Ph.D. is in molecular biology, and I have a lot of experience doing 
genetic engineering, genomics and other "wet lab" type work.  I am happy 
to help others find the appropriate information and resources.  I have 
talked with a couple of Dorkbot folks who are thinking about very 
interesting things...  Obviously, the key to doing this work is to do it 
safely and within the appropriate guidelines.  Luckily, this is very 
easy to do- it just takes a little care, awareness and preparation.

A while back Alberto and I talked about how tools like RepRap can be 
modified to do the kind of high-throughout laboratory work that is used 
in major research labs- making such research very accessible...

Thanks!
-Mark


Alberto Gaitán wrote:
> [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
> --------------------------------------
> 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."
> 
> 
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| R. Mark Adams, Ph.D.       |   "Information is light.      |
| Computational Biologist    |    Information in itself,     |
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