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34 summer 2009 34 summer 2009 34 34 DArNING GeNes: BIOLOGY FOr THe HOmeBODY meredith Patterson interview TYsON ANDersON T he 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. As the diversity of topics suggests, this is a large community. Along with specialists in biological fields, you'll find educated amateurs with an eye toward starting their own home labs. From academic to soldier to artist, from middle schoolers to retirees, the DIYbio field represents a cross-section of humanity and their convergence makes for varied and interesting discussions. 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. Why has this field suddenly exploded? The answer goes far beyond falling costs and the rise of the garage tinkerer, although these are factors. One big factor seems to be a desire to solve some of today's major problems. Discussions seem to frequently drift towards two particular topics: creating fuel-generating microbes and finding remedies for disease. Indeed, the DIYbio community owes much of its increase in size to do-gooders, concerned citizens who see DIYbio as a method of confronting problems in a novel way. And while this is heartening, many members simply want to pursue science for the love of it. They're DIY simply because they wish to conduct research into relatively unprofitable fields. In much the same way that homebrew computer science built the world we live in today, garage biology can affect the future we make for ourselves. For example, the bioweather map could greatly augment the way we understand epidemiology and the environment on a micro scale. When we open science up to the public, we pretty much always get useful results. Of course, there are bound to be some ethical concerns about, and within, a community tinkering with biology. The ethics of genetic research is certainly not lost on the practitioners. encroaching legislation threatens to stifle their growth via tight regulation or outright restriction. The DIYbiologists are trying to come up with fair and workable solutions. To get a better perspective on the DIYbio phenomenon and its issues, h+ talked to meredith Patterson, a Computer science doctorate, who is trying to solve issues with food contamination with bacterial warning systems. Photo courtesy of http://flickr.com /enochsmiles

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