Propose, by submitting a detailed design, a new lifeform. 1. prize for best plausible biobricks-based lifeform, and another for best speculative lifeform. The winners in our two categories will get either an all-expenses-paid trip to the kickass Synthetic Biology Conference in Hong Kong this October, or $1000 and a chance to have their creature drawn by a cool comic book artist. Find out more below. - Mackenzie Cowell via Bookmarklet
Earlier this spring, at a pub near MIT, about 25 to 30 people, some of them researchers from MIT and Harvard, gathered to talk about what they can do to build a community of backyard biologists. The group, which calls itself DIYbio, is exploring ways to make biology more of an amateur-friendly, do-it-yourself activity. Such activities could include culturing microorganisms and building low-cost equipment for DNA amplification. The group began meeting last month. One of their first exercises was to extract DNA from oatmeal, apples, and saliva. - Mackenzie Cowell via Bookmarklet
"Today however, we'll focus on a particular light emitting algae known as Pyrocystis Fusiformis. These dinoflagellates typically do not occur in high enough concentrations among marine algae to produce a vary noticeable glow. However, when the conditions are right (excess nutrients, enough sun, etc) an algal bloom can occur and populations explode. Chances are you've heard of this phenomenon before which is also known as a Red Tide." - Mackenzie Cowell via Bookmarklet
I was lucky enough to swim with these bioluminescent beasties at night in the Bay of Isles in New Zealand. Very pretty. - Andrew Perry
You can obtain the equipment and chemicals needed to do the experiments in Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments from many sources, but ordering piecemeal takes time and often costs more. We've arranged with Elemental Scientific, LLC to produce several kits at reasonable prices that contain exactly what you need to complete the experiments in the book: Glassware Kit, Equipment & Supplies, and lots of useful chemicals - Mackenzie Cowell
This seems mostly reactionary / apologetic for Steve Kurtz, but still has lots of good material in it. I originally was very sympathetic to Kurtz et al and the Critical Arts Ensemble, but after more reading I came across a couple neutral parties claiming Kurtz and the CAE had a history of agitating in the name of Art - so take their version of the Kurtz saga with a grain of salt. - Mackenzie Cowell
