BioCurious? CHEM LAB ON THE CHEAP CheapStat is an open source, inexpensive, DIY poten- tiostat (electrochemistry instrument) designed by a team of electrical engineering students from UC Santa Barbara working with chemists. Conceived with resource-poor developing countries and undergradu- ate laboratories in mind, CheapStat can check water for arsenic, measure the level of vitamin C in orange juice, perform simple DNA biosensor tests, and more. The design team plans to come up with more cheap, nonproprietary chemistry gadgets in the future.
makezine.com/go/cheapstat —LC
Aaron Rowe / Plaxco Lab (CheapStat); Tito Jankowski (BioCurious); Josh Perfetto (DNA); Vestergaard Frandsen (LifeStraw, opposite)
“Innovations in biology should
be accessible, affordable, and
open to everyone.”
San Francisco Bay Area’s BioCurious biotech hackerspace believes “innovations in biology should be
accessible, affordable, and open to everyone.” Their
fully stocked 2,400 sq. ft. biology lab and technical
library is open to members for a monthly fee. They
also host classes and weekly meetups, and boast
a growing community of novices and experts alike.
biocurious.org —GM
DIY DNA
Ever wish you could peer inside
your own DNA? Stop wishing,
and start building the (relatively)
inexpensive OpenPCR kit.
Coupled with open source software for Mac or PC, this handsome DIY thermocycler lets users
select and replicate segments
of DNA to test for any number
of genetic conditions. Since its
release in July 2011, the kit has
been demonstrated with tests for
particular muscle performance
traits and aversion to Brussels
sprouts, and has been used in the
wild to check foods for telltale
GMO markers.
openpcr.org
—Gregory Hayes
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