Who invented the popular "arduino" microcontroller, and why? This presentation explores the development of several diybio kits and projects over 2010 and suggests that tools developed by and for non-professionals may be positioned to become disruptive innovations due to their low-cost, simple use, open design, and growing public documentation and examples.

2. why are you interested
in biotech?
tinkering business
29% 16%
1300+ amateur biologists around the world art
15%
- scientists, inventors, artists, educators...
research other
- inventing “lo-fi” molecular biology 32% 8%
- bridging the gap between science & society
- broad interest in public, open work are you interested in
working in public?
reinforcing positive culture via diybio.org
neutral
- establish transparency & safety norms 5%
interested uninterested
- biosafey & legal tools, guidelines 84% 11%
- support public lab & tool development
- organize positive community projects (BWM)
source: diybio 2010 survey

3. 1. expert “biohackers” (5%)
& “newbie” amateurs + hobbyists (95%)
2. entrepreneurs
3. artists
4. educators
5. journalists
6. policy makers
3
diybio mailing list users

4. capabilities
94% talkers
users (undergraduate level)
DNA purification
culturing
5% PCR
mutagensis
transformation
part assembly
1% makers (grad level)

5. May 2010 - http://diybio.org/local

6. a growing community
that wants to play with biotechnology
developing lo-fi tools, techniques, and toys

7. why ?
science as new tools &
culture techniques
toys today,
DNA is not scary. tools tomorrow;
disruptive innovation.

8. “ “I see a close analogy between John von Neumann's blinkered vision
of computers as large centralized facilities and the public perception
of genetic engineering today as an activity of large pharmaceutical and
agribusiness corporations such as Monsanto. The public distrusts
Monsanto because Monsanto likes to put genes for poisonous
pesticides into food crops, just as we distrusted von Neumann
because he liked to use his computer for designing hydrogen bombs
secretly at midnight. It is likely that genetic engineering will
remain unpopular and controversial so long as it
remains a centralized activity in the hands of large
corporations.”

9. “
W. Brian Arthur:
We are attuned in the deepest parts of our being to nature, to our original surroundings and our
original condition as humankind. We have a familiarity with nature, a reliance on it that comes from
three million years of at-homeness with it. We trust nature.
When we happen upon a technology such as stemcell regenerative therapy, we experience hope. But
we also immediately ask how natural this technology is. And so we are caught between two huge
and unconscious forces: Our deepest hope as humans lies in technology; but our
deepest trust lies in nature. These forces are like tectonic plates grinding
inexorably into each other in one long, slow collision.
The collision is not new, but more than anything else it is defining our era. Technology is steadily
creating the dominant issues and upheavals of our time. We are moving from an era where machines
enhanced the natural—speeded our movements, saved our sweat, stitched our clothing—to one
that brings in technologies that resemble or replace the natural—genetic engineering, artificial
intelligence, medical devices implanted in our bodies. As we learn to use these technologies, we are
moving from using nature to intervening directly within nature. And so the story of this century will
be about the clash between what technology offers and what we feel comfortable with.

11. why now ?
Lab-as-a-Service Synthetic Biology DIY equiptment &
CARLSON
tools techniques
Put the gel along with the casting plate in a tank with TAE, EtBr at the same concentration can
be added.
The gel must be completely covered by TAE and placed such that the wells are at the end electrode
passing negative charge.
Heater
Gel Electrophoresis Chamber
SYNTHETIC
Procedure
molecular weight blue dye.
In the same way now inject the DNA samples mixed with the blue dye into the other wells.
Now a current is applied, about 100V for 30 minutes.
Lastly place the slab of gel on a UV light box and observe.
One can also capture a digital image of the same
n this semi-log plot, DNA synthesis and sequencing productivity are both increasing at least as fast as Moore?s Law
angles). Each of the remaining points is the amount of DNA that can be processed by one person running multiple ma-
BIOLOGY 7
ne eight hour day, defined by the time required for pre-processing and sample handling on each instrument. Not in-
ese estimates is the time required for sequence analysis. For comparison, the approximate rate at which a single mole-
li DNA Polymerase III replicates DNA is shown (dashed horizontal line), referenced to an eight-hour day.
rocessing time and cycle time per run for instruments in production are based on the experience of the scientific staff
FOR
ARTISTS &
ular Sciences Institute and on estimates provided by manufacturers. ABI synthesis and sequencing data and Intel tran-
ourtesy of those corporations. Pyrosequencing data courtesy of Mostafa Ronaghi at the Stanford Genome Technology
eWriter data courtesy of Glen Evans, Egea Biosciences. Projections are based on instruments under development.
sed in protein structure determination show
nds (Figure 2), suggesting a general rapid im-
sign new chips and the computational power of the chips
used in the design process.
dESIGNERS
of biological technologies. As a reference, We can now see the beginnings of a similar effect in This was then centrifuged at room temperature for 3 minutes @ 8000 rpm.
aw, which describes the doubling time of the the development of biological technologies. For exam- Discard 900 micro ml of the supernatant and dissolve pellets in remaining 100 micro ml. Spreading
helps ensure that you will be able to pick out a single colony.
These were then spread on LB Agar plates containing 100 micro grams per ml Ampicillin.
transistors on microchips, is also shown in ple, enzymes optimized for laboratory conditions are
1 9
used in the preparation of DNA for sequencing, where
ng anything to Moore’s Law is already a earlier sequencing technologies were part of characteriz-
doing so remains a useful device to gauge our ing and modifying those enzymes. Recombinant proteins
ns of how other technologies will affect so- are used every day to elucidate interactions between pro-
ic change. This comparison starts with the ob- teins within organisms, and that information is already

12. what’s going on now?

13. $111?
Hard to purchase w/o academic affiliation
pGlo kit

14. DNA Explorer, $80?
(Ages 10 and up)
www.discovery.com
no longer available :(

15. bioweathermaps

16. bioweathermaps
• crowdsourced sampling + funding for
metagenomics
•volunteer microbial biosurveilance
•Launched at GET2010 (April)

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bit.ly/diybio-squid

18. Rapid-Prototyped centrifuge spindle

19. algae photobioreactor
$50? spin-off from biofuel startup

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61. Pearl Gel Box (v.2)- $499

62. $100 2-axis
microscope

63. ... and DIY
microfluidics

65. $30 microbial fuel cell
generates
microamps @
0.3 volts
from natural soil
microbes
Great educational tool for kids and kids at heart!
Dirt Power! (Discounted classroom packages available, including
educational material and pre-­‐designed curriculum)
Key Players:
Microbial Fuel Cell Kits
Shewanella
(aka Mr. Clean)
find
Fill it up with dirt from your backyard and whatever you
in your refrigerator and see how much powe r you can get!
Learn about the extraordinary abilities of microbes in your backyard. Shewanella can be found
almost everywhere on earth, from
mountain soils, to ocean
Compete in our International Dirt Power Competition. sediments. It has an ability to
metabolize a wide variety of
elements that are toxic to humans,
Develop the technology by submitting data to our online database. humans or other animals. It even
has the ability to metabolize
Uranium, precipitating it out of
contaminated waters.
ed . Your name w publicatio
Get Publishe worldwith our online ill be on it!n, presenting Geobacter
data collected all around th (aka The Iron-­‐breather)
What the heck is a microbial fuel cell?
rness
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bio-­‐electrical devices that ha
the natural metabolisms o f microbes to produce electrical power -­‐
ak down Known as the
directly. Within the MFC, microbes act as a catalyst to bre , Geobacter species have
sugars and other nutrients in their surrounding environment and
olecules compounds and use them in a way
release a portion of the energy contained within those m similar to the way humans use
in the form of electricity. oxygen.

66. SpikerBox $120 neuron recorder

67. LavaAmp - $200 rapid pcr machine

68. $400 open source PCR
OpenPCR thermocycler

69. what’s happened?
mostly hardware development
- open source patented
- several startups formed
- $10,000+ in crowdsourced funding
fun easy wetware
- bioluminescent microbes
- yogurt-hacking
- genotyping
one academic conference (Jan 2010)
formation of several public lab spaces
lots of news

70. who invents
rapid prototyping toys?

80. enables tinkering
(rapid prototyping)
with electronics

81. enabling tinkering
with biology

82. two paths to new tools
refactoring - cheaper
existing tools - more open
- more fun
- simpler (more limited)
inventing new
tools (“toys”*) prioritizing
tinkering play
* over significance accuracy
blinky LED new market for biotech tinkering tools
tutorial

83. negative framing by the media
“Many a computer business has started in a garage or a teenager's bedroom. So,
though, has many a computer virus. And where computing led, biotechnology may
follow.” Economist, Sept. 2, 2006
“The Dr. Strangelove of the 21st century may well be a biohacker.” The Sunday
Telegraph, December 24, 2006.
“…with DNA hacking far more widespread, what if your friendly local terrorist
decided to take up the hobby?” The Times (London), Sept. 16, 2006.
“Welcome to the age of synthesized life, built from scratch. Soon, it may be so
cheap and simple a teen hacker could do it. Or a terrorist.” 2005 The Globe and
Mail (Canada)
“What's available to idealistic students, of course, would also be available to
terrorists.” 2009, The New Yorker
What kinds of organisms will scientists, terrorists and other creative individuals
make? 2007, Washington Post
“The ability to create nasty pathogens like your hybrid rabies virus in your bathroom
is becoming easier and easier…this is much easier than trying to get enough fissile
material to make a nuclear bomb…” 2009, Homeland Security Today.

84. diybio.org + Woodrow Wilson International Center
for Scholars (synbioproject.org)
1-year grant to develop a long-term roadmap to a positive culture of
safety within diybio worldwide, funded by Alfred P. Sloan foundation.
objectives (want to help?)
1) define the diybio community
- define a baseline to track +/- trends control hype
2) inventory existing ethical codes of conduct
- hobbyist “maker” codes; hacker ethic; igem, RCR
3) identify potential risks posed by diybio
- to amateurs, mainstream science, and public at large
4) develop preliminary biosafety guidance
- adapted from EHS, NIH and other professional sources
5) mobilize celebrate biosafety “champions” within community
- work with existing groups to build demonstrate safety ethic

85. a growing community:
that wants to play with biotechnology
developing lo-fi tools, techniques, and toys

86. a growing community:
increasing human capital in biotechnology
smoothing the interface between science society
that wants to play with biotechnology
increasing public awareness and understanding
developing lo-fi tools, techniques, and toys
protoyping tools disruptive technologies
for biotechnology

87. why are you interested
in biotech?
.org
tinkering business
29% 16%
art
15%
- public blog
research other
- build safety legal resources 32% 8%
- promote transparency outreach
- organize positive community projects (BWM) are you interested in
working in public?
neutral
want to collaborate? 5%
interested uninterested
contact@diybio.org
84% 11%
source: diybio 2010 survey

88. Bangalore
Boston
Chicago
Los Angeles
London
New York City
San Francisco
Seattle
Houston
...
.org