Links
Very incomplete. Please add to this!
Biohackerspaces[edit | edit source]
This is a very short and incomplete list. There is an overly complete, but not updated, list at DIYbiosphere and you can find the raw data here. There is also a list on diybio.org which probably isn't up to date either and you can always check out the hackerspaces.org wiki which lists a large percentage of all global hackerspaces, makerspaces, fablabs and similar.
- BioCurious - Santa Clara, CA, USA
- Large, well-equipped and long-running biohackerspace
- Experiment with friends!
- Counter Culture Labs - Oakland, CA, USA (Our space!)
- Events free. $80 per month. Sponsored free memberships available
- GaudiLabs - Lucerne, Switzerland
- GaudiLabs is now a for profit LLC that sells products. Everything is open source/hardware. Unclear if it is a private space or open to new members / drop-in visitors.
- HackteriaLab - Zürich, Switzerland
- The lab space is part of the Bitwäscherei hackerspace collective
- Kaouenn-Noz - Rennes, Brittany, France
Chats[edit | edit source]
- Maybe the most active biohacking chat?
- Chat and virtual meetup about open lab automation
- There is also a bridge from Discord but it doesn't seem to be perfect
- Intersection of biohacking and transhumanism
Online and in-person communities[edit | edit source]
- The oldest and probably biggest mailing list for biohacking. Not much traffic but a lot of people listening.
- Molecular biology forum. Not super active.
- A community and unconference around Open Science Hardware
- There are several regional GOSH groups such as AfricaOSH and reGOSH which covers Latin America and the Caribbean
- A global network of people, a wiki and a physical lab
- The physical lab is located in Zurich as part of the Bitwäscherei hackerspace collective.
- An online community focused on environmental community science
- An annual gathering of people working on biohacking and biohackerspaces
- An online platform where a bunch of community projects are hosted but appears offline as of this writing (February 2023)
Individual biohackers - Blogs, vlogs, tubers, etc.[edit | edit source]
- Abizar Lakdawalla on YouTube
- Instructions for DIY lab hardware, including electrophoresis box, tissue culture hood, heater block, and monochromator. Also lab hardware teardowns and repairs.
- ATinyGreenCell aka Sebastian S. Cocioba part of Binomica Labs
- A plant biohacker. Also does some bio hardware hacking. Very active on twitter
- Also has a mastodon account and a blog for his lab
- Periodically sells various open plasmids and other wetware. Previously on etsy (got banned), sometimes on twitter and sometimes here.
- Based in New York City
- CCL has a set of his chromoprotein strains as glycerol stocks (archived March 2023). Ask Marc Juul or Tim Dobbs.
- CommonPlace Lab's blog run by NaturePoker aka Sung won Lim
- Blog posts about sequencing, halophiles and opentrons
- Works with (part of?) Binomica Labs in New York City
- Also has a main website and github
- Some dude calling himself "DIY Biotech" has a YouTube channel
- Some interesting stuff but also published a video about NFTs :(
- Free molecular biology courses, open hardware and wetware designs, info on low-tech plasmid/strain storage, etc.
- Also has a YouTube channel
- Mostly focused on C. Elegans but has generally interesting stuff
- e.g. Using LEDs as a low cost source to detect GFP and DsRED
Protocols[edit | edit source]
- Protocols for DNA extractions, gel electrophoresis, PCR and sequencing
- Lots of protocols on cloning, PCR, phages, sequencing, freezing strains and more.
- Huge wiki with lots of protocols and info in general
Software[edit | edit source]
- Calculate Tm and other oligo properties
- The official release no longer runs or builds on modern systems so this is an unofficial update
Where to buy[edit | edit source]
Reagents, hardware, services, etc.
Hardware[edit | edit source]
- Brick Labware - Frisco, Texas, USA
- 3D printed labware. Mostly tube holders but a few other interesting things.
- Focused on teaching supplies. Stocks a bunch of basic equipment.
- Gaudi Labs Shop - Lucerne, Switzerland
- Open Electrowetting system (OpenDrop), Spectrophotometer (fiber, visible only), G-code to analog converter, all open hardware
- IO Rodeo - Pasadena, California, USA
- Open Hardware Colorimeter and Potentiostats
- The Odin - Austin, Texas, USA
- Nice selection of hardware, wetware and reagents. Ships to individuals. Banned from Germany (I think)
Services[edit | edit source]
Sequencing[edit | edit source]
- Whole plasmid or whole bacterial genome sequencing
- Whole plasmid starts at $15
- Whole genome starts at $90
- Free shipping if you drop at one of their drop boxes (there's one on Stanford's campus)
Plasmids and strains[edit | edit source]
- Vast library of plasmids
- Large collection of strains.
- Request up to 24 per year free of charge.
- Vast collection of strains.
- Intermittently sells open wetware plasmids and strains on etsy or twitter
- Made an open library of E. coli plasmids for making various colors
- Focused on teaching supplies and stocks a small selection of strains and plasmids
Reagents and consumables[edit | edit source]
These will be mostly US based businesses.
- Algae cultures and a few related reagents and consumables
- BioBasic - U.S. and Canada
- Very affordable. E.g. miniprep kits for under $1 per reaction
- Ebay seller. Loading dyes, ladder mixes, syringe filters
- Smaller selection than the larger companies but aimed toward small labs and affordable.
- Sells to anyone, though I believe they got banned from selling in Germany.
- Has a built-in comparison shopping tool with ordering.
- Used to be the go-to tool for Counter Culture Labs but started charging $100 per user per year for non-profits just for access
- Cheap but needs commercial address and sometimes requires more for some chemicals (even sometimes very safe ones).
Fabrication services[edit | edit source]
Lasercutting[edit | edit source]
Note that PCB manufacturing companies will sell metal solder paste stencils which might be usuable if only thin metal is required.
- Plastic, wood, rubber, leather, fabrics, cardboard, paper
- A bit pricey but local to Oakland
- Instant online quote generation
- oshcut - Metal only lasercutting
- Great choice of materials
- Up to 1" steel and aluminum! Some materials limited to about 0.13" thickness
- Affordable with instant quote generation