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The idea of a bedroom/basement laboratory has appealed to me since childhood, and probably has for my scientist friends, so when I read the Rise of the garage genome hackers (McKenna, 2009:20-21) in last week’s New Scientist magazine my mind started wandering back to my time as a biochemistry student.

The article interviewed a few people that do homebrew biology and have achieved some impressive results with modest equipment: one amateur has inserted green fluorescent protein genes into bacteria whilst another claims to have engineered bacteria capable of basic logic functions.

Some of these people belong to amateur organisation called DIYbio which “is an organization that aims to help make biology a worthwhile pursuit for citizen scientists, amateur biologists, and DIY biological engineers who value openness and safety”. Their blog has interesting articles like gel electrophoresis at home and considering safe storage of reagents, disposing of experiments and general waste disposal.

Would any of you try some homebrew genetic engineering, or have any ideas for interesting entomological applications? With seemingly low setup costs, the article implies equipment could be obtained for under £100 if you have some ingenuity, a home lab could be a possibility for many people. It’s also easy to see potential problems, not just with the experimenter’s safety…

Reference:
McKenna, P. (2009) Rise of the genome hackers. New Scientist. No 2689