Archive for the DIY Category

DC Science and Engineering Fair this weekend looking for judges

The DC Science and Engineering Fair is this weekend and they’re looking for judges, so I thought I’d send it your way. I won’t be able to make it, but looks like a fun way to volunteer some time to future nerds.

http://www.dcsef.com/Judging.html

First Issue of Citizen Science Quarterly finished…

http://citizensciencequarterly.com/

First issue ready, second issue awaiting submissions.

WAMU Hosts Conversation on DIY-Bio and Community Labs

Just in today… Should rebroadcast in the afternoon cycle and become posted at this link as webcast,

http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2011-03-22/do-it-yourself-biology

Will Government Regulate Access to Individual Genomic Data?

This article at ArsTechnica brings into question late crack-downs on small labs offering personal genomic analysis..

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/08/should-we-regulate-peoples-access-to-their-own-genome-data.ars

Open Science Summit, July 29-31, in person or live webcast

Was just checking out our friends at the Foresight Institute and came upon this information…

“The Open Science Summit on July 29-31 in Berkeley is looking better and better.

Topics include OpenPCR, DIY biology, open source hardware, brain preservation, synthetic biology, gene patents, open data, open access journals, reputation engines, crowd-funding and microfinance for science, citizen science, biohacking, open source biodefense, cure entrepreneurs, open source drug discovery, patent pools, tech transfer, and much more.

Here’s some advance media coverage:

http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2010/07/07/the-open-science-shift/

http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2010/07/diy-biotechnologists-go-looking-for-a-bigger-garage/59701/

If you can’t attend in person, watch the webcast live at:

http://fora.tv/live/open_science/open_science_summit_2010

Put it on your calendar now!  Or we’ll hope to see you in person, especially for the session where Christine Peterson is speaking: “Safety and Security Concerns, Open Source Biodefense” at 5:15 PM on Friday. “

2 More Public Summits with BioEthics.gov

The Federal Policy Makers have 2 more public forums to be held later this summer/fall.
Future Meetings
September 13-14 in Philadelphia,Pa.

November 16-17 in Atlanta, Ga.

Read the Agenda, Check out the Synthetic Biology background paper and make your voice heard if so called.

http://www.bioethics.gov/

Presidential Summit on BioEthics

The Presidential Summit on BioEthics met last week with Drew Endy, Rob Carlson and others addressing the Obama Administration.

Flash Video’s available

http://www.tvworldwide.com/events/bioethics/100708/

Make Magazine’s Best of 2009 - Med & Bio Hacks

Medical and Bio: Open source hardware 2009 - The definitive guide to open source hardware projects in 2009.

BodyShock: Call for Entries on Ideas to Transform Lifestyles and the Human Body to Improve Health in the Next Decade

Bryan Bishop just sent over this link to me. Sounds like an interesting competition and could be another focal point for a longer term project after this year’s iGEM competition.

Check it out!!!

DIY - AFM plans

One of the folks at Hack:DC just posted a link to plans for a milled Atomic Force Microscope.

This is an extremely expensive piece of equipment that can give insight into a number of biological processes that go unseen from standard optical microscopes.

http://www.biophysik.physik.uni-muenchen.de/projects/plastic-afm