SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY

Hackers Aim to Make Biology Household Practice

from the Boston Globe (Registration Required)

CAMBRIDGE—In a third-floor loft where programmers build Internet start-ups, Mackenzie Cowell is talking about the tools he and like-minded young colleagues are using to fuel what they hope will be the next big thing in biology. The list includes a cut-up Charlie Card, ingredients bought on eBay to make a kind of scientific Jell-O, and a refrigerator, just scored on Craigslist.com, that chills to 80 degrees below zero.

Cowell is part of an effort called DIYbio—short for do-it-yourself biology—that aims to move science into the hands of hobbyists. It is starting by holding sessions where amateurs extract DNA, and attempt genetic fingerprinting using common household items and the kitchen sink.

"It shows you how much science can be about duct tape and having a few screws in the right place," Cowell said. "It shatters that clinical image."