Chuck.untulis11:58 AM
Is this the place for DIY biology chat?
anfractuosity11:59 AM
yup
Dusan Petrovic11:59 AM
yes welcome!
konsgn11:59 AM
speaking of diy bio, How to?
Dan Maloney12:00 PM
@Chuck.untulis indeed it is. We'll get started in just a minute.
tocatrooper joined the room.12:00 PM
Dan Maloney12:01 PM
Actually, it's noon, so let's get to it. Welcome to the Hack Chat! I'm really excited to have Justin Atkin here today...
thethoughtemporium12:01 PM
Hi Everyone!
Dan Maloney12:02 PM
He'll be under @thethoughtemporium handle for the chat, please welcome him and start asking questions about DIY biology
konsgn12:02 PM
ohhh pst is 3 hours off est no wonder it didn't start a couple hours ago
Dan Maloney12:02 PM
Time zones - getcha every time
Jarrett12:02 PM
hullo!
Anthony joined the room.12:02 PM
Jan12:02 PM
hi there!
Jarrett12:03 PM
I don't use timezones
Jarrett12:03 PM
they're just not that useful, to me
Dan Maloney12:03 PM
@thethoughtemporium - Maybe you can kick us off with a little bit about yourself, and how you got interested in DIY bio
lawrence_vpi12:03 PM
Hey, I am in Ontario and was wondering where you get your perishables?
tocatrooper12:03 PM
Best machines/tools for a start up lab? Cost? Best place?
thethoughtemporium12:04 PM
Ok will do! my background is pretty odd. Been experimenting in a home lab since I was in highschool. My current goal is to not only do fun and exciting research in a variety of fields, but to show that science can be done anywhere on any budget
thethoughtemporium12:05 PM
I've always been interested in bio because of the immense potential it holds. Bio is essentially the best way of converting one sort of matter into another so you can kind of do anything with it if you're clever and have enough time to mess with it.
lawrence_vpi12:05 PM
Hi Justin I to have been working in a home lab for quite awhile.
thethoughtemporium12:06 PM
It's everything I love about physics and chemistry, but applied at the smallest and largest scales at once.
Dan Maloney12:07 PM
The funny thing about biology is that for every "rule" there are a dozen exceptions. I always found that to drive the chemists and physicists crazy - they couldn't deal with the exceptions
thethoughtemporium12:08 PM
@lawrence_vpi I get my perishables from a variety of sources. And it really depends how perishable the item in question is. Most stuff I get on ebay and amazon honestly. It's crazy how much stuff is available. Anything specialty I have to get from the larger supply companies. If you set up a company and have a non residential address, you can order from them without issue.
Jan12:08 PM
so, we're talking petry dish biology here?
Dan Maloney12:10 PM
Really? Suppliers balk at residential addresses?
thethoughtemporium12:10 PM
@Jan Yes and no. Bio is interesting because most of it is moving small volumes of liquid around. But then you take that tiny starter and it can grow to kilometers wide depending on what the thing is. In my case I'm modifying yeast because then I can grow them in massive tanks to produce stuff
tocatrooper12:10 PM
Best diy molecular biology communities? Support/resources
Dan Maloney12:10 PM
I mean, I can see ordering radioisotopes as a problem, but enzymes and reagents?
Thomas Shaddack12:11 PM
why not lactobacilli?
OnlyOneCannolo12:11 PM
In your experience, what are the most cost-prohibitive aspects of diy bio that could benefit from more accessible equipment and tooling?
Jan12:11 PM
ah, I can relate! baking with a sourdough starter which I feed at least once a week for like ten years...
Dan Maloney12:11 PM
@Jan -- Mmmmm - sourdough...
Sina Booeshaghi joined the room.12:12 PM
thethoughtemporium12:12 PM
@Dan Maloney Yup they're really picky. It's a bunch of paperwork for some companies like thermo or sigma. So most of...
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lost OFF Cop are goin to be save with it