A number of scientific improvisers, or bio-hackers, are part of a growing movement called
DIYbio, short for do-it-yourself biology. The movement got its official start in 2008 with
DIYBio.org, an online hub for sharing ideas—and the site has grown to more than 2,000 members since its inception. From the website:
DIYbio.org is an organization dedicated to making biology an accessible pursuit for citizen scientists, amateur biologists and biological engineers who value openness and safety. This will require mechanisms for amateurs to increase their knowledge and skills, access to a community of experts, the development of a code of ethics, responsible oversight, and leadership on issues that are unique to doing biology outside of traditional professional settings.
The
NYT recently
published an article about the movement.
We also recently had the first DIYbio meetup here in Toronto: http://www.meetup.com/DIYbio-Toronto/. Among other activities at the meeting, we had a video conference call with some of the people behind BioCurious. We're a long way from having a similar space here in Toronto, but there is some interest :-)
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