10 August 2012

SynBio & DIY Radio Program

A Danish radio program being aired Saturday 11th of August at 3 pm on Radio 24syv shines a light on synthetic biology and Do It Yourself biology. 

Listen in when prominent Do It Yourself (DIY) biology people Cathal Garvey from Ireland and Martin Malthe Borch from Denmark, talk about their efforts with building their own biology labs and why they have cast their love upon the DIY movement. They  discuss their visit in the FBI Headquarters, as they were invited alongside other DIY biology enthusiasts to discuss biosafety among other topics. Supporter of the DIY bio movement and Head of the Center for Synthetic Biology, Professor Birger Lindberg Møller is also interviewed during the program.

The link to listen to Radio 24syv live: 
http://www.radio24syv.dk/

The home page of the program, from where the program can be streamed or podcasts can be downloaded after the emission: http://www.radio24syv.dk/programmer/3-planet-fra-solen/

The Synthetic Biology in DIY Biology

The Center for Synthetic  Biology has itself been inspired by the DIY bio movement: In the spring of 2012 a social event was set up to assemble a PCR-machine produced by the company OpenPCR founded by DIY-scientists.  Read about the PCR machine assembly event here.

The open sharing of knowledge and reassembling technology are forming the base of the DIY movement. The emergence of synthetic biology as a new approach to biology based on standardized molecular and genetic parts and the sharing of these, has played an important role in opening up DIY biology as a new branch within the DIY-movement. 

Universities to Adopt DIY Philosophy?

When commenting on the relationship between universities and the DIY movement Professor Birger Lindberg Møller notes that:
"While it is important that we as scientists offer our help as mentors for the DIY movement to ensure ethical practices, we should also realize how university research in parallel could be inspired by the Open Access philosophy and the passion-driven and innovative energy inherent to the movement". 

The science program on the Danish radio channel Radio 24syv, "3. Planet fra Solen" (3rd Planet from the Sun) is produced by journalists from the science museum Experimentarium. The emission in question will be aired Saturday afternoon, 11th of August at 3 pm. 

Cathal Garvey's home page: http://www.molecularist.com/2011/09/cathal-garvey.html

Martin Malthe Borch's "Biologigaragen" home page: http://biologigaragen.org/

The link to listen to Radio 24syv live: 
http://www.radio24syv.dk/

The home page of the program, from where podcasts can be downloaded after the emission: http://www.radio24syv.dk/programmer/3-planet-fra-solen/