Genspace: New York City's Community Biolab (Video)

Imagine that you are at 33 Flatbush Ave. in the Brooklyn borough of what David Letterman calls "the world's greatest city." You go to the 7th floor. Congratulations. You have found New York City's community biolab, Genspace. It's a well-equipped facility without a single mad scientist in sight. Indeed, everyone here seems as happy as the people you see in a makerspace -- which should not be surprising, since Genspace is essentially a makerspace for biologists. It is confined to non-hazardous experiments, but there is plenty going on, including ongoing projects and courses with titles like DIY Neuroscience: Controlling Behavior from the Inside. You can keep up with Genspace by following their blog. And of course, if you're in the neighborhood you should stop in. It's a welcoming environment, dedicated to the idea that science is for everyone, not just a chosen few.

Comments

science is for everyone, not just a chosen few

[tippe]

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are scientists hand-picked by the king now?

Re:science is for everyone, not just a chosen few

[Samantha Wright]

We sure are. Our degrees are in Latin and everything.

The parameters are "do you have the patience and dedication to get a four-year degree?", "how about a two-year research project after that?", "okay, what if we replace that last one with a five-year research project instead?", "can you afford it all given your socioeconomic situation?", "can you devote your career to it?", "are you not already trapped in another career?". If the answer to all of these is "yes", then the king has hand-picked you. Otherwise you'd be SOL without a bio-hacker space like this.

Re:science is for everyone, not just a chosen few

[Iron (III) Chloride]

I find that to be a bit of an unfair characterization.

Sure, there are definite socioeconomic barriers - it favors someone who was exposed to science at a young age, or could afford to get a decent education (or be so good that he could get into a school where he didn't have to pay tuition), or did not have family obligations that would distract from a career - these things all unfairly inhibit participation in science. But I don't think that things like patience and dedication can be characterized as "hand-picking," certainly not in any sense of it being "unfair."

The truth of the matter is, science is hard, and requires intelligence, diligence, and patience. No institution or society or culture has artificially increased its difficulty - its very nature means that in order to be able to understand what you're doing, you're going to have to put a lot of effort into it. If it's not within your personality to be able to put up with the work involved (though personality to some degree can probably be taught, so there's probably some socioeconomic dependence there), then it's unlikely that you're going to be able to make substantial contributions to your field.

That said, I am quite supportive of the Genspace project, for the simple reason that it is a great endeavor from an educational point of view. But that also means that the science done there is probably not going to be of the same caliber as the research that you see done at top academic labs around the world.

Re:What could possibly go wrong

[Samantha Wright]

The important thing is that you've answered all of your questions and you're satisfied with the answer.

The alternative answer is that it is stupendously hard to do anything dangerous in a biology lab, unless you spend millions of dollars on equipment and supplies. The idea of any individual or group less powerful than a small government or large corporation doing anything dangerous with a bio lab is pointless low-budget sci-fi wankery. With no effort and no training, you could just go to Africa and bring back some Malaria-infested mosquitos, and cause far more damage. It's a complete waste of time to worry about the abuse of biology for nefarious ends.

Re:What could possibly go wrong

[Anon-Admin]

I dont think that is correct. Just to make a point

Blood Agar Plates == 10 for $23.95 (Online Science Mall)
Laminar flow hood == $400 (E-bay)
Incubator == $100 (e-bay)
Sample of pathogen == Free from Rats you just have to catch and test enough tell you find what you are looking for.
Microscope for identifying various pathogens. == $150 (E-bay)

So the stuff to capture and culture out a pathogen is less that $1000 and there are some nasty ones out there to be had. Just to point this out as well bubonic plague is easy to find in rat populations depending on where you are and it even easier to spread with little more than an eye dropper!

NOTE: E-bay prices are what I paid for my equipment. Bigger equipment can get expensive, for example my HPLC was $1500 and my Vis/UV Spectrophotometer was $300