The broad scope of DIY Biology
Following the footsteps of iGEM Aachen 2014, we are building [http://igem.rwth-aachen.de/2015/index.php?title=Team:Aachen/Lab/Bioreactor/Hardware custom made hardware for custom made biology]. Since there was no suitable design in any DIY platform (e.g. Hackteria.org, DIYBIO.ORG, Appropedia.org) we started to build our bioreactor system right from scratch.
While [http://igem.rwth-aachen.de/2015/index.php/Team:Aachen/Practices/Maker_Faire demonstrating our first prototype at the MakerFaire in Hannover], we were fascinated by the exhibited DIY Biology projects.
Inspired by the creativity and commitment of the "Makers", we decided take a [http://igem.rwth-aachen.de/2015/index.php/Team:Aachen/Practices/Community_Labs deeper look into the European Community Labs Scene].
Since not only iGEM team but also Community Labs shared our problems with the organisation of samples in the fridge, we developed [http://igem.rwth-aachen.de/2015/index.php?title=Team:Aachen/Practices/Tubefront tubefront, an organisation software for biological samples].
Speaking of software, the use of software on computers, smartphones or tablets increases in laboratories all around the world. But is it safe to bring in such devices like lab notebooks? In collaboration with iGEM Team Slovenia, we analysed [http://igem.rwth-aachen.de/2015/index.php?title=Team:Aachen/Practices/Safety how many microbes live on the surfaces of such devices].
During the course of our project, we had the pleasure to meet and collaborate with a great number of passionate and creative partners inside and outside of the iGEM community. At our "Collaborations" page, we tell you more about our [http://igem.rwth-aachen.de/2015/index.php?title=Team:Aachen/Collaborations active collaborations and simply having some fun].
Click on the tiles below to visit our hardware section or to navigate through the different parts of our policy & practices work:
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Achievements
- Gathering and implementing valuable feedback on our bioreactor system design at the MakerFaire and other occasions
- Extensive discussion of and intensive collaboration with Community Labs
- Developing a novel software to easily organize samples in the lab and sharing it with iGEM teams and Community Labs
- Evaluating biosaftey and respective concerns about biohacking with Community Labs and iGEM teams