Synthetic biology, ethics and the hacker culture

 by ANDREW MAYNARD on AUGUST 17, 2010

While the DIY Biotechnology community has grown considerably since this post, the piece still captures something of what is still a young movement, and one that challenges assumptions about top-down technology innovation.

Read more: http://2020science.org/2010/08/17/synthetic-biology-ethics-and-the-hacker-culture/#ixzz0x9hpkhn3

On Cunningprojects.com : An Analysis of What #DIYbio Has and What It Needs

DIYbio and its more professionally oriented cousin, Garage Biotech, are undergoing a revolution at present. Essential equipment that used to cost thousands is now available at affordable prices, in many cases under open licensing schemes and open to community development. Knowledge of biology, genetics and the procedures underlying it all is being disseminated in ever-more-abstracted forms to make it easier to get started. And soon, even the biological components: strains, enzymes and substrates, will likely become mass-marketable.

It’s an exciting time to be involved in the development of tomorrow’s technology, and sometimes I find myself stepping back to consider what we have, and what we still need. I may as well share these musings with others to spare them the time, and perhaps to inspire someone with the know-how to fill in the gaps and help make this happen.

Prepare for a long, long post. Read more here : http://letters.cunningprojects.com/?p=132

Opinion on Synthetic Biology

Like Tom Wakeford and Jackie Haq (26 June, p 26), we were part of the group overseeing the preliminary dialogue between scientists and members of the public, discussing breakthroughs in synthetic biology with a view to gauging their response to the new technologies......

Read more on the New Scientist website : http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727720.200-synthetic-biology.html

BioCurious: A Hackerspace for Biotech. The Community Lab for Citizen Science

What ideas would you come up with if you hung out with a molecular biologist, a mechanical engineer, a computer programmer and an artist - and happened to be sitting next to a lab?





Read more and make your pledge : http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1040581998/biocurious-a-hackerspace-for-biotech-the-community

DIYbio in Singapore

DiyBio is everywhere .....

http://diybiosingapore.wordpress.com/

The state of DIY Biology

Makezine is running a piece on the amateur biotech movement

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/07/the_state_of_diy_biology.html

DIYBio meet-up - Folk Microbiology

It was a night of culture - yoghurt cultures. Vaughn Tan shared his passion for yoghurt with about two dozen captivated future yoghurt makers. He spoke about the biochemistry and microbial ecology of the process - ways to optimize the proteins in the milk, effects of inoculation temperatures, the activities of the different bacterial populations in the culture.

read more : DIYBio meet-up - Folk Microbiology

Responsible Science for Do-It-Yourself Biologists

..... The Synthetic Biology Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center is partnering with DIYbio.org, on a project to ensure safety within the rapidly expanding community of amateur biologists.....

Read more : http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/press/responsible-science-do-it-yourself-biologists,1363363.html

The Risks and Rewards of Synthetic Biology

When scientist cross the moral Rubicon its time for debate:

The Risks and Rewards of Synthetic Biology

What is DIYbio in 4 minutes?

Watch this clip to get a sense of what DIYbio is all about. Source : http://bmlabs-mag.posterous.com/what-is-diybio-in-4-minutes via : diybio.org

Embedded video :

The DIYbio Community - Presented at Ignite Boston 5 (2009) from mac cowell on Vimeo.

Will Synthetic Biology Change How We Value Human Life

Will Synthetic Biology Change How We Value Human Life

Synthetic Biology Curriculum Expands with New Courses

The NSF-funded Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC) has made exceptional inroads this year in the effort to train a new generation of synthetic biologists by developing and launching a series of courses at the graduate, undergraduate, and high school levels. The courses reflect not just the scientific and engineering goals of the field, but also its social and ethical dimensions. Some of these courses are available outside the host university through online modules at openwetware.org, and a course on the Fundamentals of Synthetic Biology was taught at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, Korea. SynBERC is headquartered at the University of California, Berkeley.

Read more : http://showcase.erc-assoc.org/accomplishments/2010/2010-SynBERC10-L-curriculum_BH.html

Open Science Summit 2010 : Enlightenment 2.0: Unleashing the Open Science Revolution

Renowned physicist Freeman Dyson identifies two kinds of scientific revolutions, those driven by new concepts (theoretical), and those driven by new tools (technological).

Read more : http://opensciencesummit.com/2010/05/12/enlightenment-2-0-unleashing-the-open-science-revolution-2/

100 Ideas : Keegotech microbial fuel cell voltage

An arduino is hooked up to measure the voltage created inside a Keegotech microbial fuel cell. Some of the soil microbes in the MFC become electrogenic in anaerobic conditions, and the MFC collects electrons from them.


http://www.pachube.com/feeds/8254

Will Synthetic Biology Lead to Truly Living Buildings? | Buildings | GreenBiz.com

Will Synthetic Biology Lead to Truly Living Buildings? | Buildings | GreenBiz.com

UK Workshops on Synthetic Biology Reveal Fascination, Worries | GenomeWeb Daily News | GenomeWeb

UK Workshops on Synthetic Biology Reveal Fascination, Worries | GenomeWeb Daily News | GenomeWeb

Wired :U.S. Leading Charge on Synthetic Biology Funding

Synthetic biology received about $430 million in U.S. government funding from 2005 to 2010, far outpacing European governments, which gave their synthetic biologists $160 million over the same period. The emerging field received nearly no funding before 2005, according to a new Woodrow Wilson Center report.

Read More hhttp://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/06/synthetic-biology-money/#ixzz0qLLf8UWs

Government funding for synthetic biology on the rise

New report compares US and European funding

WASHINGTON, DC — A new analysis by the Synthetic Biology Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center found that the U.S. government has spent around $430 million on research related to synthetic biology since 2005, with the Department of Energy funding a majority of the research. By comparison, the analysis indicated that the European Union and three individual European countries – the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Germany – had spent approximately $160 million during that same period.

... http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-06/poen-gff060710.php

The reoprt can be found here : http://www.synbioproject.org/

Ginkgo selected for $6M ARPA-E grant from DOE

..... A Boston company selected to receive $6 million is Ginkgo BioWorks, which seeks to engineer the E. coli bacterium to harness electric current to convert carbon dioxide and water into isooctane, a component of gasoline, the department said......

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2010/04/feds_earmark_22.html

Synthetic life is a noble cause - Synthetisch leven is een nobele zaak

The creation of a new life form is the highest for humans. That he went level with the many gods that human culture is rich. Nothing wrong with that so. Or right? As sensational stories prevail in the discussion on synthetic life is becoming louder the call for control and risk mitigation of a research field with many fantastic potential.

Google translate : Volkskrant article