Today’s Weekend Watch is actually more of a “weekend listen” featuring BioHacking Safari on Soundcloud. Perhaps it’s not the kind of thing you normally think about, but modifying DNA is certainly intriguing, and something that may be a bit unnerving for many people.
Lucas Evers—WAAG Society
As Lucas Evers of the WAAG Society puts it in this clip, “I love artists to do real things.” In this case he’s referring to scientists making modified organisms for a reason. He goes on to note that sometimes people that come up with really outrageous ideas — like using smallpox to create tattoos — can prompt interesting discussion.
Connor Dickie—Synbiota
Connor Dickie’s discussion focuses on Synbiota’s biotechnology kits, which combine hardware and “wetware” — actual biological material — into a kit that you can use yourself. These kits, which start at $45, aim to make this sort of creation accessible. He can foresee a future world of open source biotechnology, making biological development faster and hopefully very beneficial to society.
Charles Fracchia—BioBright
With a background in electronics and computer science as hobbies, Charles Fracchia of BioBright realized that biological experimentation tools were generally behind the rest of the world. According to his talk, tools basically include a lab, notebook, and timer. His idea is to help these tools catch up, and perhaps track experimental factors that wouldn’t be normally recorded. This could mean that one could go back and see what affected a certain experiment.
Sarah Davies—Hacking and Making as Individualized Agency
Sarah Davies, a research fellow at University of Copenhagen is a scholar of science technology and society. This clip focuses on how she’s been fascinated by the maker/hacker culture, and what elements she sees in common with most people she meets in that our society.
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