Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Biology (Biotechnology and Society)

Required Reading
// Intro to DIY biology by co-founder of GenSpace. // Introductory article talking about the relationship of DIY biology and the field of synthetic biology. // Main DIY project that we will discuss. Click around their Kickstarter site and links on the Glowing Plant website. Read their blog post about regulations. // News coverage of "Glowing Plants" project. // Scientific paper covering how bioluminescent Nicotiana was created. (The same method to be used by the "Glowing Plants" project.) Interestingly, the first author on this study is listed as being involved in a company called BioGlow and a patent application. // Detailed blog post putting the Kickstarter project's science and role in DIY biology in context.
 * 1) Jorgensen Ellen Jorgensen TED Talk "Biohacking -- you can do it, too." 10 min.
 * 1) Bennett2009 pmid=20010587
 * 1) Kickstarter Glowing Plants: Natural Lighting with no Electricity (Kickstarter)
 * 1) BBC Kickstarter crowd gives glowing plant the green light (BBC News)
 * 1) Krichevsky2010 pmid=21103397
 * 1) Splasho Crowd Funding Avatar

Additional Background

 * Community / open Bio labs
 * GenSpace (NYC)
 * BioCurious (Bay Area)
 * Kelty CM. (2010) Outlaw, hackers, victorian amateurs: diagnosing public participation in the life sciences today. J. Sci. Comm. 9:1-8. Available online here.
 * Tech Know: Life hacking with 3D printing and DIY DNA kits (BBC News)
 * Hobbyists try genetic engineering at home (MSNBC)
 * GloFish Ethics statement
 * "Kickstopper" campaign against glowing plants